This husband and wife team from Rural Revivals have renovated and re-designed

small and charming spaces from cottages across Britain, to several Ontario farm-

houses and bungalows as well as a log cabin in Glacier National Park in Montana!

 

With a love of history and the pastoral

countryside of much of the English-

speaking world, Julie Johnson and

husband Richard Reich have created

 Rural Revivals, to help preserve the

architectural merits as well as eco-

friendly advantages of doing make-

overs, renovations, restorations and

interior and landscaping upgrades to

buildings that are both small and rural.

"In the narcississtic way of the Western World, most of us

live in homes far too big, so we want to encourage those who

live in cottages, cabins, farm out-buildings or even mobile homes

which they'd like 'done up' in a variety of textured, quaint rural styles"

says Johnson.  "And don't even get me started on the population crisis

and the building of McMansions and suburban development on all

 our crucial agricultural land."  Her husband agrees "Nope, don't start her!"

Because they are both "thrifty" (one from Scottish, one from German backgrounds

they laugh) and due to the smaller sizes on which they contract, Rural Revivals is

also able to offer everything done on an incredibly low-cost budget to help make the

dream happen for clients who either want to enjoy their spaces, or stage for re-sale.

Johnson's interest in interior design plus

her training in set design for the Theatre

Arts has put her good stead for her work as

the visionary who develops the make-over

from one or two of their eight style choices:

Colonial Charisma,   Southwest Special(Spanish),

 Lofty Ideals (Minimalist) Shabby Chic (Beach House),

Farm Charm,   Rustic and Primitive (Western),

Steampunk Salvage and Victorian Vintage.

 

Reich began his career as a graphic

artist with fine art and wood-working

as his primary hobbies. He  then went

on to remodel several of his own homes

in his spare time, whilst working full-

time at a job in colour management and

design for various printing corporations.

Johnson has renovated, recycled and

salvaged most of the parts for her new

decor and designs in a log cabin in

Glacier National Park, Montana, as well

as two old Ontario farmhouses, two stone

cottages in northern England, and one in

the highlands of Scotland. Once together,

the pair have renovated several other

homes and campers for both themselves

and clients, using reclaimed woods and

natural materials in 90 % of their product.

Rural Revivals, and Julie Johnson's

sister business, Rustic Revivals, a

salvage and folk arts and crafts one-

of-a-kind retail company, were derived

in North Yorkshire, England, when

Johnson was hired for a month to do

work for a duchess and member of

parliament.  Later, they both worked

on a cottage for tourists on a 20,000

acre estate in Aberdeenshire. “We loved

being together there, because of course

there was no cell phone service or inter-

net, so we'd be very unhappy trying to

communicate with each other when one

was away for a few days getting supplies.”

While Reich is a perfectionist and likes to

take a great deal of time over each of his

building projects, Johnson says she is the

opposite, tends to want to get everything

wrapped up and finished quickly so she

can enjoy the completed results. "So, we

really balance each other out quite well",

laughs Reich. "She doesn't let me take too

long over anything, and I don't let her stay

up all night splashing paint over walls that

may not look the right colour in the morning!"

In 2016, unhappy as ever with the urban

sprawl in Southern Ontario, the couple

decided to semi-retire from the rat-race,

move to New Brunswick (as close to the

English countryside as they can get with-

out having to leave Canada altogether) &

continue their passions in the businesses

Johnson has been running in Ontario of

recent years with Rural Revivals also

organizing historical and eco-friendly shows,

 and rustic weddings, retreats, corporate

conferences and etc. at their Ontario farm

and others' farms, teaching farmers and

lovers of the countryside that is fast

disappearing, how to make money with-

out having to sell out to developers or

city planners.  She learned many of these

skills by studying how British councils

rule their historical sites and listed buildings,

as well as helping to organize events

across the u.k. so that "small holdings"

can remain with self-sufficient owners,

and their cherished farm buildings and

restored water and military towers, con-

verted barns and stables, and gate

houses, lodges and old chapels can

remain intact, something at which this

continent of North America is woefully

deficient.  Rural Revivals is aptly named.

Inspired by recent trends in rustic

farm or woodland-themed weddings,

and buoyed by the ideas they have

already been working on that fit in

with the now-popular "shabby chic"

distressed finishes on many furnishings

and cabinets, Rural Revivals has found

its own special niche in New Brunswick,

although they are now offering consulting

as part of their long-reaching offerings.

With testimonials from satisfied clients,

(one amusing one being "They took

my house crappy & made me so

HAPPY!"), Rural Revivals can offer

so much to small country places (or

any unique space whose owners WISH

it to look 'country'). They have a wonderful

website with examples of their work in

astounding Before and After photos, as

well as samples of their 8 separate styles

from which clients can choose. Although

New Brunswick is their preferred location

for salvaging and saving bits of history,

they are willing to travel. "However," says

Johnson, "our primary purpose is to help

people do this on a budget - so obviously

having to cover our travel expenses is

not always balancing with our mission.

See Rural Revivals on Facebook to be

directed to their website for more photos

or contact information if you have a fixer-

upper or space you need staged for re-sale.