This Forever Farmhouse In Florida Proves Blue And White Is A Timeless Combination

For years, she had longed for a house on some land, but it wasn’t until she serendipitously found this parcel that she took the plunge

“Wide-open spaces and nature have always been of the utmost importance to me,” says Jupiter, Florida, designer Kara Miller, who spent her early childhood years on a sugarcane farm. So when she discovered this 5-acre piece of land after a visit to her beloved father’s grave in 2020, it felt like a divine nudge. “I just knew it was supposed to be mine,” she remembers. “I was like, ‘This is it. This is meant to be. It’s in the stars.’ I knew in my heart God was saying, ‘This is definitely going to be a part of your story.’ ”

Carmel Brantley; Designer/Stylist: Kara Miller “I wanted the botanicals to pop off of the faux bois,” says the designer of the reading room art.

It took a few years for her farmhouse to materialize. After considering several iterations, Kara ultimately settled on a stock plan (“I loved the elevation,” she says) and worked with her firm’s in-house architectural draftsman to revise the footprint to function more efficiently for her and her family. “It’s interesting how floor plans and architecture can really change the way you feel in and experience somebody’s space, so it was important to me that I included things like cased openings, transoms, and all the little details that I think make a place special and unique, thoughtful and intentional,” she says.

Carmel Brantley; Designer/Stylist: Kara Miller Kara mixed metals (unlacquered brass and polished nickel) in the kitchen for character.

These old-house elements also create clear-cut areas within the main floor’s seamless layout. “I enjoy cooking and having my family over for dinner, so the living-dining-kitchen connection was essential to me,” says Kara. “But I don’t love an open-concept floor plan where there is no separation.”

Carmel Brantley; Designer/Stylist: Kara Miller In the living room, the designer wrapped the white sofas in blankets to preserve the cushions.

Throughout, she relied on a decorative “carousel” of millwork, wallpaper, and paint to further ease the home into its distinctive rhythm. In the living room, for instance, nickel-gap paneling (which is painted Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White, SW 7005) adds character, while in the dining room, grass cloth wallpaper provides a warm, textured backdrop. The kitchen repeats the living room’s wood paneling, with whitewashed beaded-board walls to balance the colorful cabinetry, splashed in Sherwin-Williams’ Serenely (SW 9632).

Carmel Brantley; Designer/Stylist: Kara Miller Kara balanced the dining room's lighter tones with a custom brown wood table by a local artisan.

The airy blues that float through nearly every space are the designer’s signature. “I just love a cooler palette,” she says. Her trick for making a scheme feel consistent but not monotonous? “I think it’s about implementing the colors in different ways.” In the entry, a ditsy print (Schumacher’s Margie Floral in Porcelain) climbs up the walls and carries the blue-and-white combo upstairs, where the primary suite embraces those same sky-worshipping shades—a tip of the hat to the scenery outside. “One of the things that I really underestimated was the view from the second story,” says Kara. “When they put the windows in, I remember thinking, ‘This is incredible! I feel like I’m in a tree house up here.’ ”

Carmel Brantley; Designer/Stylist: Kara Miller “I wanted this to be my palate cleanser,” says Kara of her serene primary bedroom.

Whenever she’s ready to engage with the landscape more directly, Kara has multiple porches on the ground floor. “If I had my choice, I would live out there,” she says with a laugh. And in a way, she does. “There are three different zones of seating on the back porch. I have a TV over the fireplace for game day, I have a dining table out there, and I have another living area where I’ll read. And then I’ll sit in a rocking chair on the front porch and watch the sunset every day.”

Carmel Brantley; Designer/Stylist: Kara Miller For the porch, the designer chose resin wicker furnishings by Summer Classics with plush cushions.

For Kara, it’s about connecting to the land. “I consider myself a steward of this property, and I mean that with all my heart,” she says. “If one day I can’t live here, I will know I did the right thing by this place and for this home…. It just feels like it belongs here."