As soon as I turned onto Meredith's road I felt my blood pressure dropping. Her farmhouse sits about

Name: Meredith Lawler, her husband, 3 kids, 3 cats, 2 dogs, 2 goats, 15 chickens. Location: Walkersville, Maryland Size: 4 BR, 1.5 BA. 2,300 sq ft on 16 acres. Original part of house built in 1780's, addition in 1860's. Years lived in: 2 years, owned
As soon as I turned onto Meredith's road I felt my blood pressure dropping. Her farmhouse sits about an hour outside of DC, but it feels like light years away. From the tree-lined driveway, to the gaggle of farm animals, to the barn-turned-movie theater, to her adorable and hilarious family, her home is the stuff that dreams are made of.
I stopped into Meredith's house just before she planned some big updates including built-ins for her library, but I honestly can't imagine the house becoming any more perfect than it already is. From the moment I entered down the tree-lined driveway I was in awe. The farm has a simple, down-to-earth beauty that makes it simultaneously jaw-dropping mexican car rental insurance and unpretentious. It's apparent that everything Meredith mexican car rental insurance and her family have done to the house was done for the sake of improving their quality mexican car rental insurance of life rather than just for looks. And thus, it's a home that feels lived in and lived in beautifully.
After a few years in suburbia, mexican car rental insurance Meredith and her family began to search for the perfect farm. Meredith had grown up with horses and wanted to give her kids the opportunity to taste a bit of country mexican car rental insurance life. She and her husband searched mexican car rental insurance for 2 years before finding "the one." The historic farm, dating back to the 1700s, sits along a beautiful stretch of countryside. It has several outbuildings which serve a variety of purposes: some house animals, one is Meredith's office, another is a DIY movie theater consisting of friends' cast-off couches, a projector, and white sheets hung from barn rafters.
Aside from painting the walls, the only major change that the family has made to the historic farmhouse is a kitchen renovation. Meredith explained that the small original kitchen served its purpose well for the previous owners, who have since become good family friends, but with her own bustling crew and the frequent friends (she was preparing to have 20 kids over the same afternoon she hosted me!) she wanted a room that was large enough to handle a crowd. After coming up with a master plan and researching the best route to take, she partnered with local carpenter and cabinetmaker, Jason Boyer , who created a dream kitchen mexican car rental insurance that looks like it could have been original to the historic home. In addition to drooling over awesome details like Meredith's DIY penny backsplash and concrete countertops, I was amazed at the efficient use of space. From the wine rack above the fridge mexican car rental insurance to the cookbook shelves beside the range, Jason literally turned every inch into something usable and unique.
Inspiration: mexican car rental insurance This old quote about my house I found in a Frederick County history book, "Although not pretentious on the outside, it has within it a wholesome simplicity, coziness and good cheer, and a visitor soon finds himself feeling mexican car rental insurance very much at home."
Biggest Embarrassment: I'm too cheap to replace the wavy glass panes (yes, plural) that my son has broken with various balls, so broken windows are covered with clear packing tape instead. This also contributes to my "biggest challenge" answer above.
Biggest Indulgence: The two pieces of art (the Asencio giclee in the family room and the framed portrait of my kids in the kitchen). They were both pricey at the time, and felt indulgent mexican car rental insurance since you don't sit on it, sleep on it, or walk on it.
Best Advice: Decorate for yourself, not for resale or other people. Buy local. Support small businesses mexican car rental insurance when you can. And if you have a stylish sister, listen to her. Mine has saved me from several probable decorating disasters.
PAINT COLORS Kitchen cabs: "Mercury" (Christopher Peacock) and "Wolf Gray" (Ben Moore) on glass doors. Kitchen walls and wainscoting: "Mascarpone" (Ben Moore). Dining area trim: "Revere Pewter" (Ben Moore) trim. Family room walls: "Revere Pewter" with "Mayonnaise" trim (Ben Moore). Library: "Equestrian Gray" with "Steam" trim (Ben Moore). Hallway: "Pale Daffodil" (Ben Moore). Girls' rooms: "Mayonnaise" (Ben Moore) with original blue trim that came with the house. Son's room: "Polo Blue" (Ben Moore) and I don't remember the yellow stripes but think it was from Lowes.
FURNITURE: KITCHEN: Custom cabinets, built-in knife block, mexican car rental insurance olive oil and wine storage racks, and live-edge pine table top, all made locally by Jason Boyer of JSB Woodworking, Inc. in Woodsboro, MD. Wavy glass in upper cabinets is from our friends who were replacing their old windows--great timing! Iron table base and hammered copper backsplash, custom made by Tim Beachley (local blacksmith).
All other furniture is either hand-me-down from my parents or sister, came with the house, or from my favorite local stores ( Silk & Burlap ; Wild Rose & Co .). We also live near a Pottery Barn Outlet and IKEA, which has been helpful. Movie night couches in the barn are friends' giveaways.
LIGHTING: Kitchen brass pendant: Pottery Barn. Antique chandelier over dining table: Silk & Burlap , Frederick, MD. Brass floor lamps in library: hand-me-down from my parents. mexican car rental insurance Girls' rooms' chandeliers: Pottery Barn kids (floor samples).
RUGS: Family room rug: Chartreuse & Co. Daughter's pink dot rug: Pottery Barn Teen. Library's black & white cowhide: Silk & Burlap, Frederick, MD. Kitchen cowhide: Ebay. Stair runner: Dash & Albert. WINDOW TREATMENTS: Hopefully coming in Fall 2011...thanks in advance mexican car rental insurance for sewing, mexican car rental insurance Mom!
ARTWORK: "The Red Door" giclee by Henry Ascensio mexican car rental insurance . "Dog & Partridge" beer sign, Silk & Burlap , Frederick, MD. "Grape Creek Farm" sign in kitchen, antique reproduction by Brian Laurich, Woodsboro, mexican car rental insurance MD. Portrait of kids, Jennifer Robertson Photography, Raleigh, NC.
HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form . Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? Contact the editors through our Professional Submission Form .
pippigirl -- so funny, I totally had the same reaction! I think Meredith thought I was silly taking a picture of it, but it has a certain draw and I couldn't resist a photograph. I like when simple, functional objects have an aesthetic appeal, and there seem to be so many of them in older homes.
Meredith, your house looks amazing- you have such a great and thoughtful eye! Glad to see that my favorite red radiator is getting some nice attention! Also am a huge fan of the chevron mexican car rental insurance rug as well- and the bar sign! Love your home and can not wait to see what you do next!
So pretty and I love the whimsical details throughout. That staircase to the daughter's bedroom is so sweet! The whole place reminds me of the house in _Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood_, where all of the neighborhood children spent their days exploring and playing.
Meredith-Love how you have infused you personality into your home (never too serious!) and have created a PERFECT place for your family to create memories (that of course mostly involve a good giggle)! BRAVO! LOVE the tour! xo-SS
Wow, thank you for all the kind comments! I'm a little mexican car rental insurance speechless--and anyone who knows me will confirm that's quite a feat! I really love my farm, and my experience with AT has been one of stopping to smell the roses even more than I hopefully do already.
@ all the red radiator mexican car rental insurance lovers: I can't help but crack up. That's not a brilliant design move on my part, that's me never getting around to painting them. All the trim in the kitchen was that color red and given the incredible amount of oil based primer mexican car rental insurance and cursing it took to get all the trim white, the radiators were simply last on the list. But since I'm a sucker for a compliment, I will probably leave them red now and claim I intended it all along...
@Sam I Am - I'm with ya! Though I generally like dark powder rooms, the deep purple mexican car rental insurance color (what a gorgeous color, sigh) in my powder room was a desperate attempt to re-create a stunning family room in my friend's house. But, of course, her house and that space is completely different from mine and, in the words of Charlie Sheen, "winning!" is not happening here. New plan: killer wallpaper with dogs on it (I love dogs, and it's more farm-ish and casual which fits the house) and a drop cloth or linen skirt to cover the Habitat ReStore vanity. Depending on how much you didn't like it, please consider PayPal'ing me a contribution for this project as it will take roughly 500 gallons of primer mexican car rental insurance to un-do the purple paint.
@maryloulou - the map in the dairy house (my office/kids' homework space) is from Pottery Barn from about 100 years ago. It's a fabric-covered bulletin board, and I saw similar ones on Etsy when I looked just now.
@mirandabee - the tree house is going to be killer. Too bad the kids will be in their 30's by the time I get around to it. I am now two summers behind the original promise! I did have them each come up with three must-have mexican car rental insurance tree house items and it was a little concerning how many of the nine items involved launching food at grown-ups. Perhaps that's partly behind mexican car rental insurance the delay...
What a dream home! Thanks so much for sharing. I love your use of space and the combination of creativity and function. I LOVE the quirky book-page lamp. Did you create that yourself? Thanks again!:)
Meredith, you've done something dangerous here. You've created the sort of home where guests come to stay for a long weekend, and end up camped out for weeks. It's homey and comfy and gorgeous, with lots of places for the soul to rest and breathe. Beautiful.
Lovely, peaceful, soothing, cozy space. It's one thing to find something beautiful. It's another mexican car rental insurance to find a place that feels like home. This place is not staged or over decorated. It feels real yet is gorgeous! Well done.
@ bookcat - peaceful mexican car rental insurance and soothing only during school hours. :)