TL;DR
Get furniture and decor delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
A Veranda feature profiles an 1850 stone farmhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, renovated by designer Richard Keith Langham and his childhood friend, homeowner Follin Smith. Smith lived in the house for 20 years before the pair completed their long-planned redesign, which reworked its cramped layout and incorporated antiques and decorative pieces collected over time.
Designer Richard Keith Langham and his childhood friend, Follin Smith, spent 20 years shaping her 1850 stone farmhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, into a home guided by plans they had developed over time. A Veranda feature, published in its November/December 2018 issue, describes how the pair transformed the house’s cramped layout and brought long-stored furnishings and personal ideas into the finished rooms.
When Smith bought the farmhouse, it had many small rooms, too many doors, and a mismatched addition. It also had no dining room. Smith lived in the house largely as it was for two decades, developing a detailed vision for how it should work and feel before the renovation took shape.
That plan included a dining room she imagined as “dark and sexy at night,” a dressing room with separate areas for clothes and accessories, and a working kitchen smaller than its pantry. She also wanted a compact bedroom with space for her grandmother’s bed and a chaise. Langham worked with her on the redesign; architect Timothy L. Clites is credited for the architecture in the magazine feature.
The finished home draws on objects Smith had kept and details the pair had used in earlier projects. A pair of crewelwork panels she had stored for 15 years hangs in the living room, while hydrangea wallpaper and aubergine silk curtains appear in the dining room. The living room has limed Mississippi cypress paneling developed using a technique Smith and a friend created. In the kitchen and breakfast room, a large pantry, mixed-color limestone floor, and small ladder-back chairs reflect the project’s specific design choices.
A Long-Planned Home Takes Shape
The project’s defining feature is not a single furnishing but the length of the collaboration: Smith spent years forming a plan, and Langham helped turn it into a workable home. The result shows how renovation can involve changes to a house’s layout as well as its decoration, especially when the owner is willing to live with existing conditions while decisions take shape.
The house also brings together personal history and practical changes. Smith’s grandmother’s bed, long-kept textiles, and Scottish-inspired library curtains tie the rooms to her life, while the new dining area and reorganized kitchen address needs the original plan did not meet. The magazine account offers a detailed example of a renovation shaped by an owner’s preferences and a longstanding working relationship.
Products Worth Considering
Dyson Omni-Glide Cordless Stick Vacuum, Gold/Iron
Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max Air Purifier for Large Rooms
LG 77-Inch OLED evo C6 4K Smart TV
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Childhood Friendship to Renovation
Langham and Smith’s relationship predates the farmhouse project. The Veranda report says Langham decorated Smith’s doghouse when they were children and remained her designer and close friend over the years. Their earlier shared work also informed the farmhouse: the pair reused decorative elements they had liked in previous projects.
The feature places the work across a long period rather than presenting it as a quick makeover. Langham joked that they were 40 when they started and 60 when they finished. The story was written by Carol Prisant, photographed by Francesco Lagnese, and produced by Carolyn Englefield for the magazine’s November/December 2018 issue.
““We were 40 when we started, and when we finished, we were 60.””
— Richard Keith Langham, as quoted in Veranda
Renovation Details Not Reported
The Veranda feature gives a visual and descriptive account of the finished rooms but does not provide a full construction timeline, renovation budget, or detailed record of which structural changes were made. It also does not specify when the work began and ended beyond Langham’s estimate that the process spanned roughly 20 years. The article is a house-tour feature, not a technical assessment of the property or renovation.
The Feature’s Published Record
The reported development is the completed home as documented in Veranda’s November/December 2018 issue; the source does not announce further renovation work or a new project. Readers can refer to the original house tour for the room-by-room account and photographs credited to Francesco Lagnese. No additional plans or subsequent changes to the farmhouse are described in the source material.
Key Questions
Who redesigned the Pennsylvania farmhouse?
Richard Keith Langham designed the interiors in collaboration with homeowner Follin Smith. The Veranda feature credits Timothy L. Clites with the architecture.
Where is the farmhouse?
The 1850 stone farmhouse is in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
How long did the project take?
Langham described the process as taking about 20 years. The feature does not give exact start and completion dates.
What changed in the farmhouse?
The project addressed a layout with many cramped rooms, excess doors, a mismatched addition, and no dining room. The redesign added a dining room and created spaces including a dressing room, library, and a kitchen with a large pantry.
When was the house tour published?
Veranda published the feature in its November/December 2018 issue.
Source: veranda.com
