American Farmhouse Style – June 2019

62 • AMERICAN FARMHOUSE STYLE

Know where you can DIY projects,

and acknowledge when you should

hire a professional. In the kitchen,

Loren hired a subcontractor to add

the ceiling beadboard, but did the faux

shiplap herself.

“The rooms were divided up,

especially the kitchen and dining

room,” she says. “That was the biggest

change, to open that up. It now has

more of an open floor plan.”

This is Loren’s third home renova-

tion and by far the largest project

she’s tackled. She prefers using a

combined approach for the remodel

work. For larger construction

projects, she uses outside subcon-

tractors, and for the smaller touches,

she works on them herself, DIY style.

“I was the general contractor,” she

says. “I loved the actual design part,

and I hired out subcontractors and

managed that.” With every home she

renovates, Loren learns more about

the industry and the right team of

people to hire. “It takes the pressure

off you to hire out subcontractors,

because they know what they’re

doing,” she says.

“I wanted the

house to look

custom

without

spending too

much.”

The kitchen island was another DIY project

of Loren’s. “It’s a bathroom vanity I used as a

kitchen island and wrapped in shiplap,” she says.