Barnyard bargains

Seated in the sunroom of her Rathdrum farmhouse, Rolane Hopper places a hand on a well-worn table covered in peeling paint.

“I love a piece just like this because it tells what it’s been through,” says the thirty-something physical therapist who has turned an eye for vintage finds into a burgeoning antiques empire.

“I really enjoy hunting for antiques, and it’s kind of like a hobby-gone-business,” she says. “People would tell me, ‘I love how you put this together,’ so I thought maybe I could actually sell this.”

It began several years ago in Southern California, where Hopper met and married her husband, Dean, a fellow physical therapist. As she haunted thrift stores and yard sales to decorate their home, her accumulation of antique finds steadily grew.

“I started off just collecting stuff and kind of having it get out of control,” Hopper says, until one day she had enough to spare. “I decided to sell at a flea market one year, and I did really well. The feeling – it was kind of like an addiction.”

When the couple relocated to Spokane several years ago, Rolane started buying and selling pieces at the Farm Chicks antique shows.

When the Hoppers later bought and refurbished a 1915 farmhouse on 10 rolling acres of Rathdrum Prairie, Rolane decided to host her own antiques sale.

“I was just selling some extra stuff,” she says, adding that the turnout was large enough to warrant a second event the following year. “It just grew from there.”

Dean Hopper says his wife’s sense of style lends itself to merchandising her products.

“She has a knack for decorating that has helped her to sell,” he says.

Part of that knack is evident in the work the couple have done renovating their vintage home and its surrounding outbuildings in an effort to showcase Rolane Hopper’s huge collection of antiques and other finds.

Most of the remodeling has been cosmetic, though the couple added the sunroom and a porch on the main floor, and a bathroom on the second.

Hopper’s signature primitive pieces dominate much of the décor, though an office and sitting area on the second floor evoke a distinctly “lodge” style. A mounted deer head hangs opposite a rustic sign that reads, “Elk-Horn Corral,” a nod to Dean Hopper’s love of hunting.

Over the staircase an odd chandelier of black iron with dangling crystals gives the room an eclectic feel.

“It’s half frou-frou, half manly,” Rolane Hopper says.

The second floor bathroom features a claw-foot tub and a striking sink and vanity of Hopper’s own design – the distressed wood of an old kitchen Hoosier is topped by cool stainless-steel surrounding a porcelain sink. A horizontal panel from the well-worn Hoosier provides a backsplash while brushed-nickel fixtures balance nicely with the modern metal countertop.

Similar juxtapositions between old and new are evident in the spacious kitchen, where rustic floor tiles and Craftsman-style cabinetry give way to more contemporary elements – stainless steel appliances and granite countertops contrast perfectly with an old woodstove, a shiny pressed-tin backsplash and an apron-front sink. Fresh flowers in an old-fashioned pitcher on the vintage farm table complete the look.

In addition to remodeling their home, the couple renovated a ramshackle bunkhouse that now serves as a bright and cheerful showroom for Rolane and fellow vendor, Sharon Blythe, who makes colorful cottage-style pillows from vintage fabrics.

The Hoppers also hope to restore an enormous old dairy barn that sits in a meadow behind the house.

“The barn may evolve into more of a business venture,” Rolane Hopper says. “I would like to offer classes – yarn spinning, pottery parties, maybe weddings.”

For now, the couple say they are happy to simply focus on their sales staged around the big barn. The summer sale is scheduled for this weekend.

As a bonus, editors from Country Living Magazine, a shelter magazine known for features on decorating with antiques and collectibles, will be on hand to meet shoppers. Photos of the antiques sale and Hopper’s restored home and outbuildings will be in an issue this fall.

Hopper and Blythe are planning a second barn sale in September.

As the Hoppers continue to renovate their farm, they hope its bucolic setting will offer vendors a chance to showcase their work in a uniquely authentic environment.

This year, more than 20 regional vendors from as far away as Yakima will offer cottage pieces, primitives, vintage Western, linens, painted furniture, salvaged finds, vintage chandeliers, fresh-baked goods, and more.

“We’ll have hay bales with quilts over them, so people can sit down and eat,” she says. “There will be tamales and fresh-baked goods and live music – I think it will make it more of an experience.”