Young Love

As a mom to three growing kids, Jess Noble never knows what the day will bring. There may be a paint spill on the craft desk in what was once a cobbler’s workshop, or an upended glass of juice from one of the kids reaching across the kitchen table to spin the clock face lazy Susan made from old barnwood. Jess takes those “oops” moments in stride, much as she did when she and her husband, Griff, bought their 1800s Massachusetts farmhouse. At first, Jess tried to mimic the previous owner’s aesthetic, which included polished mahogany antiques. “It just didn’t feel right,” she says. What did feel right were imperfect pieces—one-of-a-kind items with family-friendly appeal plucked from flea markets, vintage shops and even farm stands. “I have to have some kind of emotional attachment to an item,” Jess says. She first realized that 20 years ago after moving to Boston and tagging along with a friend to one of the massive Brimfield flea markets. “That first trip to Brimfield opened my eyes to vintage and antiques,” Jess says. “It felt like I had found my happy place.” After renovations and an addition, the house, became her playground for treasures she claimed while exploring New England. Colorful aged rugs and ironstone are among her favorites. Vintage oil paintings are another passion—a nod to Jess having studied art during college, and in Italy. “I love vintage style for the same reasons I love vintage art,” Jess says. “Someone put their heart and soul into it. I feel good being able to give it a home.” Once frustrated by the house’s “nooks and crannies and corners,” Jess says she has learned to embrace its oddities. In fact, they even inspire her. “I hung a print in the middle of an old window, and a paintbrush inside an empty oval frame,” she says. “I don’t think I would have done that a few years ago. But now I’m digging through things and I can see them in different ways.”

FAMILY FRIENDLY. Toys and prized vintage items, including the rug in the family room peacefully coexist in Jess and Griff Noble's home. The couple keeps busy with kids Phin, Dagne and Jack.

CASUAL DINING. Where others see a heavy, old cast iron skillet for cooking, Jess sees a tray for creating a centerpiece on the dining room table. The table was made from reclaimed barnwood. The old bench was a $60 find. “Matchy-matchy makes me feel claustrophobic,” Jess says. “I love that our house is comfortable and curated—that I didn’t order a ‘look’ from a catalog. I tried to be more thoughtful and playful.” Birds and branches that Jess drew in chalk serve as a whimsical backdrop for vintage oil paintings, bottles and cheese molds on the dining room’s built-in bar.

WEIGHING IN. Jess’s favorite find in the kitchen is a French pastry board with a lip that contains crumbs. A friend talked her into buying the $85 scale at a flea market. “I had to majorly clean that sucker,” Jess says. “It’s now a conversation piece. Everyone wants to know if it works. No, it doesn’t. I use it to ripen fruit.”

WHITE OUT. 19th-century ironstone with timeworn patina is Jess’s guilty pleasure. “The creamier the better,” she says. She took a little ribbing from family for her first pieces: chamber pots. “I used them to display flowers, and I didn’t care,” she says. “I loved them and they were really pretty!”

CREATIVE THINKING. Attached wooden chairs that were originally used in an auditorium find a new home at Jess’s built-in desk in the upstairs landing. Jess set up her art studio in the guest bedroom. “I’m trying to make painting a priority,” she says. “It’s a resolution to feed my soul, using vintage oils as my inspiration. I want that to be my style—maybe not as perfect, but to have that impressionistic, soft stroke.”

Q + A: Jess shares her insights into and experiences about her vintage quests.
Junking superpower. “I can spot a diamond in the rough. Some of my favorite pieces were broken or covered in rust.”
Always with me on the hunt. “Cash, a checkbook for unexpected big purchases, measuring tape and hand sanitizer.”
Happy accident. “When we were newlyweds, we bought a dresser from a little old lady selling all her furniture. When we got it home, we realized it had powder-post beetles. But it turned out OK. The seller had insisted on giving me a chicken tchotchke for good luck in our marriage. I still have it in my kitchen, and I think it has brought us luck!”
People are surprised that I’m… “A haggler. I’m unabashedly direct in offering what I think something is worth.”
Words of wisdom. “I still think about the ones that got away. So if you love it, buy it!”

ALL TUCKED IN. The nook and platform bed in Phin’s bedroom is the result of Griff’s carpentry during the home’s renovation and addition. (“He became a cabinetmaker whether or not he wanted to,” Jess says.) The $35 vintage horse print is one of Jess’s favorite bargains. “It has aged perfectly—even the frame was in good condition,” she says.

SALVAGED SPIRIT. A retrofitted workbench and barn wood mirror frame bring vintage style to the kids’ bathroom. Old printer’s type trays frame Jess’s hand-painted silhouettes of the kids.

PERSONAL SPACE. The primary bedroom’s nightstand is a kitchen wall cabinet that Jess outfitted with casters. The painting above it was one of her first vintage oil purchases. “It was a steal at $8,” she says. “It’s so pretty, but it makes me sad that these artists put their hearts and souls into works that are now just eight bucks. They are nameless creative spirits, and I want to give them a home.” The desk came from Brimfield, Jess’s longtime haunt.

CHECK MATE. An old wood checkerboard serves as a tray on the tub in the primary bathroom. The board, once used at a convalescent home, has a cutout that allowed players to slide it over their wheelchairs.

“My husband and I joke that we never freak out about things breaking because they were old anyway!” —Jess Noble

SOURCES Jess Noble Design
PHOTOS Laura Moss
WORDS Suzanne Morrissey