From the outside, Linda and Larry Meadows’ home in Athens may look like a traditional town house, but to walk from the front porch to the backyard is to take a step back in time.

The Meadows home is filled with “primitive ware” — Linda’s collections of wooden bowls, rolling pins, crocks and buckets from days gone by. The cupboards are worn, the tables are aged by years of use, and the old chairs are meant for sitting. Her mother’s colorful quilts brighten spaces in the home, alongside dried fruits and vegetables, wooden baskets, spools, and other collectibles.

“I just like that kind of thing,” Meadows said. “I liked used, worn things.”

She would rather go to an antique store or flea market than enter a nice furniture store. It’s paid off. Meadows’ love for things of yesteryear and her ability to transform her 1,400-square-foot home into a place she enjoys recently landed her a spot in a national magazine.

It all started on a private Facebook page for people who like primitive décor. Meadows said members of the page often share something they did in their homes, something they bought or how they decided to show or use primitive wares.

One day, she decided to share a photo of her kitchen after painting it to look like the interior of an old log home. It wasn’t long before a scout from the magazine Country Sampler contacted Meadows to say she had seen the photos. The scout asked Meadows if she would be interested in being in a magazine if the editor approved it.

The scout told Meadows she was approved after seeing more photos, and the pair decided on a spring shoot. Meadows said two photographers from Pennsylvania arrived at her home last spring.

“They were here all day taking photos,” Meadows said.

Fast forward to this spring, and the Meadows home is showcased in the March edition of Country Sampler. The title of the article is “Back in Time,” and the magazine is on newsstands now. 

Meadows said she has read the Country Sampler for years. The magazines were brought to bedside during hospital stays, and her daughter, Kimberly Sanderson; son-in-law, Jerry Sanderson; and 14-year-old granddaughter, Gracie Sanderson, have brought her copies for different reasons through the years.

“It’s always been one of my favorites,” she said. “It was a big coincidence. I never dreamed of being in it.”

It’s been a fun experience for Meadows, too.

“When they came, they were very friendly and easy to talk to,” she said.

Meadows and her husband let the photographers have free reign of the house. The couple sat on the porch and went for lunch to “let them do their thing,” she said.

Meadows admits her house is kind of different, but she also knows that’s exactly what Country Sampler sets out to find.

“It gives readers ideas and shows someone how they can repurpose things,” she said.

A little history

Meadows has lived in Limestone County her entire life. Before moving to their town house in Athens, Linda and Larry Meadows lived on five acres south of Ardmore. The couple decided to downsize after Larry retired from Dunlop Tires.

“I had a real country home,” Meadows said of her previous home. “I just brought it down here.”

Meadows’ love for decorating started at a young age. Her mother would let her rearrange and redecorate her home. Meadows said the home was primitive because that’s all they had.

She said she’s always loved antiques and old things, but she admits her tastes have become more primitive in recent years.

Her collections are something she hopes to hand down to Kimberly, who works at Martin and Hubbs Insurance, and Gracie one day.

“It’s just things I like,” Meadows said, adding she’s rubbed off a little on each of them.

More about Meadows and her home can be found in the next edition of The News Courier’s Limestone Life magazine, available Feb. 28.