Inside An 1850 Pennsylvania Farmhouse A Designer And His Childhood Friend Spent 20 Years Perfecting
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Veranda’s report on Follin Smith’s 1850 stone farmhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, describes a renovation shaped over 20 years by Smith and her longtime friend and designer, Richard Keith Langham. The home’s rooms, materials and furnishings reflect plans they developed over time; the report does not announce a new renovation or project milestone.

Richard Keith Langham and Follin Smith spent about 20 years shaping Smith’s 1850 stone farmhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, according to a Veranda house tour published in the magazine’s November/December 2018 issue. The report describes a long-running collaboration between the designer and his childhood friend, whose plans transformed a cramped, pieced-together house into a home organized around rooms and objects they had imagined together.

Smith did not begin a full renovation immediately after buying the property. For roughly two decades, she lived with the house as it was: a collection of small rooms, too many doors, a mismatched addition and no dining room. During that period, she and Langham developed a detailed vision for what the house could become, including a dark dining room, a dressing room, a compact working kitchen with a large pantry and a small bedroom sized for her grandmother’s bed and a chaise.

Langham described the project as a shared design effort, saying, “We were 40 when we started, and when we finished, we were 60.” The renovation brought the planned rooms into being and reused decorative ideas and pieces the pair had valued in earlier projects. These included hydrangea wallpaper and aubergine silk curtains in the dining room, as well as crewelwork panels Smith had kept in storage for 15 years before placing them in the living room.

The published tour also details choices specific to each space. The living room has limed Mississippi cypress paneling, developed using a one-off technique by Smith and a friend. In the kitchen and breakfast area, the pantry is larger than the cooking space, while differently colored limestone pieces form a varied floor. Upstairs, white organza curtains divide the dressing room into areas for clothing, shoes, jewelry and bags. The article credits Timothy L. Clites with the architecture and Francesco Lagnese with the photography.

At a glance
reportWhen: Featured in Veranda’s November/December…
The developmentA Veranda house tour revisits how designer Richard Keith Langham and Follin Smith spent 20 years developing their vision for her Pennsylvania farmhouse.

How Friendship Shaped the House

The account is less about a quick makeover than about how a long friendship and a client’s unusually patient approach shaped a home. Smith’s ability to live with the farmhouse while its plan developed allowed the project to follow a specific, shared vision rather than a series of immediate fixes. Langham’s role was both professional and personal: Veranda describes him as Smith’s longtime designer and close friend, with their collaboration stretching back to childhood.

The finished rooms also show how existing possessions and earlier design ideas can anchor a renovation. Smith’s stored crewelwork panels, her grandmother’s bed and elements the pair had used before were incorporated into the new plan. The report’s details offer readers a concrete view of a project built around accumulated objects, personal history and room-by-room decisions, rather than a single style statement.

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A House Planned Over Decades

According to Veranda, the farmhouse dates to 1850 and is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Before the renovation, its interior was divided into many cramped rooms, and its additions and doorways did not work with Smith’s eventual plan. Smith’s decision to live in the house in that condition for years is central to the account: the delay was a period in which she and Langham worked out what the home should become.

The magazine identified the project as part of its November/December 2018 issue. Its report was written by Carol Prisant, with interior design by Langham and architecture by Clites. The supplied account describes the house and its design but does not present the work as a newly announced project or a current construction update.

““We were 40 when we started, and when we finished, we were 60.””

— Richard Keith Langham, as quoted in Veranda

What the Tour Does Not Establish

The source is a design feature, not a project record. It does not provide a precise purchase date, a renovation start or completion date, construction costs, permitting details or a full account of the work involved. Its description of a 20-year process is presented in the article, including Langham’s recollection, but no project timeline or supporting documents are included in the supplied material.

The report also does not say whether the house has since changed, whether it remains Smith’s residence, or whether the pair undertook further work after the 2018 feature. Those details cannot be established from the source provided.

No New Project Milestone Reported

The source does not announce a future renovation, sale or other next step for the farmhouse. It presents a completed home through a magazine house tour, so there is no upcoming project milestone identified in the report. Any later developments would need to be confirmed through a newer statement from Smith, Langham or another reliable source.

Key Questions

Where is the farmhouse?

It is an 1850 stone farmhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, according to Veranda.

Who designed the home?

Richard Keith Langham handled the interior design. Veranda credits Timothy L. Clites with the architecture.

How long did the project take?

The report describes the vision and project as spanning about 20 years. Langham joked that they were 40 when they began and 60 when they finished.

What changed in the house?

The former arrangement of cramped rooms was reshaped to include spaces such as a dining room, a dressing room and a kitchen area with a large pantry, following Smith and Langham’s plans.

Is the farmhouse renovation a new announcement?

No. The supplied source is a Veranda feature from its November/December 2018 issue, describing the completed design rather than announcing new work.

Source: veranda.com

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