60 • AMERICAN FARMHOUSE STYLE
W
hen you’ve finished decorat-
ing your house, what do you
do? You either redecorate the
spaces you’ve already com-
pleted or find a new home
to tackle. This is what Instagrammer Loren Carr
of Blue Barn and Cottage has done on several
occasions. Her current home in upstate South
Carolina was vacant when she found it, with
dark, outdated interiors. Two-and-a-half years
later, she’s turned it into a farm cottage haven
full of personal touches and DIY projects.RENOVATION BASICS
The home is 1,650 square feet, with
two bedrooms and two bathrooms—
just the right size for Loren and her
daughter. But the house needed both
structural and stylistic updating before they
even moved in. “We rented back our old
house for a month while we did the initial
renovations, like the floors, rewiring the
house, adding an HVAC, etc.,” she says. To
make the most of the floor plan, the main
spaces, such as the kitchen, living room
and dining room, needed the most help.In the entryway, board-and-
batten wainscoting provides
custom texture, while coat
hooks and an entryway table
act as a great organizational
space for going in and out of
the house.