Page 58 - Country Living - USA (January - February 2020)

B loom where you’re planted. That was

the motto of Lauren Palmer’s father
Myron, a landscaper, and his words
have shaped both Lauren’s career and
design philosophy. As the farmer and
owner of Smyrna, Tennessee’s Blooms-
bury Organic Farm (bloomsburyfarms
.com)—named after Myron’s motto—
Lauren built a thriving 400-acre organic produce business
from, quite literally, the ground up. And when it was time
to revive a seen-better-days 1980s rancher on the same
property (a piece of land she’d saved from development),
Lauren embraced a similar spirit and a palette of earthy,
understated hues to
complement the landscape.
“I grew up surrounded by the grays TOP: In addition to
and browns of the earth,” she says, a gable roof and
noting both her father’s influence and custom sconces
(theirongateonline
her mother’s similarly understated
.net), the formerly
design aesthetic. Because the home
red-brick ranch got
was in “horrible” condition—in a crisp coat of
addition to old-school remnants from Simply White by
the “New Coke” era, there was spray Benjamin Moore.
paint on the walls and a deer head
ABOVE: Lauren and
in the freezer—Lauren enlisted family,
her daughter,
namely mom Teresa and sister Abby,
Palmer (age 5),
to help reconfigure the 1,500-square- smile among some
foot space. First up: a more open of the organic veg-
and airy footprint. Lauren removed etables that Lauren
the drop ceilings and transformed the and her team grow
on the farm that
dark and dirty carport into a light,
she’s operated for
spacious kitchen overlooking the newly
more than 10 years.
combined living and dining rooms.
The Palmer trio then brought in
The light-filled mudroom/ materials that reflect their restrained—
pantry is home to a charming and reclaimed—aesthetic. “You’re
Dutch door, a built-in cabinet
not seeing a lot of color,” says Teresa.
with scalloped shelves, “We’d rather let the mix of woods,
and a chipped antique bench
(Antiques on Holiday; fabrics, and natural patinas tell our
850-837-0488). design story.”

Ƃƅ COUNTRYLIVING.COM / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020