Date:  August 29, 2025  |   Story: Stephanie Maxwell Newton  |   Photography: Rett Peek  |   Styling: Stephanie Maxwell Newton  |  

Inspired by their love of the outdoors, a couple creates a home that’s perfectly reflective of their passions

The story of Angie and Stacey Stafford’s home is a lesson in patience. Having run across several acres of land at the edge of Ferndale a couple years after they married, they immediately fell in love with the potential it offered. They watched it sell once before going back on the market; this time, they jumped at the opportunity and purchased it. It would be 12 years before the Staffords built their dream home, an open concept country house bursting with houseplants and personality.

While the layout had been drawn years before on the back of a restaurant’s paper placemat, diving into the construction process meant the couple had decisions to make. For this, Angie leaned on both her strong sense of personal style and experience working as an interior designer. “I wanted it to be as timeless as possible because I want to live with it forever—like one of those cool old hotels that are so rich with different funky elements,” she says. In particular, she loves the bold colors, geometric shapes, and sense of glamour that are emblematic of the Art Deco period. She’s also drawn to Western influences and the great outdoors—a passion she shares with her husband, who owns landscape design firm Stafford Fine Gardening.

With two green thumbs under one roof, the choice for the home’s main accent color was an easy one. In the kitchen, verdant countertops are the stand-out element. “I sent the stone supplier a picture of the jewelry I wear all the time,” Angie says of the influence of her green and blue accessories. An earthy gray-brown on the cabinetry provides a neutral backdrop to the room’s more eclectic pieces, such as the antique soda fountain barstools, Angie’s jadeite collection, and the dozen or so orchids soaking up sunlight on a counter above the sink. “We built that shelf with the orchids in mind,” Angie says. “Stacey has had some of them for 20 years,” she adds, noting that they bloom three times a year. A simple circular tile runs the expanse of all three walls and echoes the shape of the vintage lights overhead.

Angie’s love of Art Deco extends into the primary bath, where a green-and-gold pattern makes a splash on the walls and black-and-white hex tiles cover the floor. After considering no less than 25 different tiles for the shower, they went with an elongated subway tile with a handmade feel in a hue drawn from the wallpaper. Across from the shower, a clawfoot tub with a black exterior ticks another box on Angie’s dream home wishlist. Walnut vanities topped with honed granite bring warmth to the room. “Walnut is a work of art on its own, so we didn’t stain it. We just put a clear coat to bring out its natural color,” Angie says.

From the private spaces to the kitchen and living areas, the bold choices succeed in making the home a reflection of the family inside its walls. “I had lots of pushback in different areas of the house while we were doing it, but once it was done, my friends circled back and were like, You were right!” Angie says.

Home-baked bread and a bounty of fresh produce straight from the garden are common sights in the Staffords’ kitchen. The cabinetry is painted “Urbane Bronze” by Sherwin-Williams.

Stacey and Angie Stafford

“Once I see something and feel in my bones that it’s right, I roll with it.”
—Angie Stafford

A Place for Everything
Across from the range, a wall of cabinetry houses the refrigerator and offers plenty of storage. Angie specified a modified Shaker style for the cabinet fronts and sourced Art Deco-inspired unlacquered brass hardware for the drawers. “Those were definitely a splurge, but I didn’t give a rip because I knew it was one of those things that would get better with age and that I’d keep them forever,” she says. A collector at heart, the open shelving provides a perfect spot to display her grandmother’s Shawnee Pottery corn ware.

The couple intentionally left all the windows in the house bare, choosing instead to let the landscape create a natural screen as it grows. The cowboy art is a piece Angie and Stacey found while visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards. A corresponding cowgirl hangs on the opposite side of the room.

Design Resources
Builder David Page, Page Building Co. Interior design Angie Stafford, Stafford Design Co. Appliances Metro Appliances & More Cabinetry Arnold’s Custom Cabinets Countertops Bluestone World Flooring TL Davis Hardwood Flooring Flooring (Installation) Quality Flooring Framing M2 Gallery Lighting Light Innovations Millwork and painting Page Timber Works Mirrors Tracy’s Glass Paint Sherwin-Williams Stone Stevens Stone Supply Windows and doors Pella