This Fortson Farmhouse is a Beautiful Blend of English Country Style and Southern Elegance

In the foyer, designer Gretchen Farrell installed a custom Gracie wallcovering and brought on architectural designer Manuel Tan and architect Sloan Flournoy to create millwork for historic character.

In the foyer, designer Gretchen Farrell installed a custom Gracie wallcovering and brought on architectural designer Manuel Tan and architect Sloan Flournoy to create millwork for historic character.

Farrell turned to Montano Painting for the decorative glazed pink wall color in the dining room, which showcases many family heirlooms, including the dining table and chandelier. She coated the chairs in Benjamin Moore’s Brandy Cream to add additional lightness.

Farrell turned to Montano Painting for the decorative glazed pink wall color in the dining room, which showcases many family heirlooms, including the dining table and chandelier. She coated the chairs in Benjamin Moore’s Brandy Cream to add additional lightness.

To keep the vibe intimate in the large living room, Farrell created separate zones dedicated to seating, games, and music. The Cox London oak-leaf chandelier “brings the outside in,” notes the designer. A custom ottoman, sofas, and armchairs covered in cozy fabrics encourage lounging.

The pecky cypress walls in the living room extend above to the second-floor landing. Tarquin Bilgen lamps feature lampshades by Lisa Simkin in a Sadko by Décors Barbares fabric.

Once again looking to the family’s antique collection, Farrell hung a family oil painting above an inherited console.

The recently renovated kitchen required just the lightest touch. Farrell paired an antique chair with the Matt Lane Woodshop custom table sourced by Joanne Gristina.

In the primary bedroom, vintage furnishings—including the bed and nightstands sourced from Scott Antique Markets—feel at home with the drapes in a Jasper Textiles fabric.

A pink Elizabeth Dow grasscloth from Holland & Sherry covers the guest room’s walls. Aleta bedding and the owners’ rug create playful contrast.

A pink Elizabeth Dow grasscloth from Holland & Sherry covers the guest room’s walls. Aleta bedding and the owners’ rug create playful contrast.

A midcentury bentwood-and-leather chair from Scott Antique Markets feels right at home in the twig-walled cottage.

The 1930s cottage on the property serves as a charming space for guests to stay.

“We made the cottage porch into a napping porch and it’s just heavenly,” says Farrell.

A vintage table makes for an easy, yet charming outdoor dining area with lake views.

There are few careers as personal as design. Much more than choosing furnishings, a designer’s job is understanding how their clients live. For Gretchen Farrell of Gretchen Farrell Interiors, one project didn’t require that sort of deep dive: her childhood friends’ Fortson, Georgia, farmhouse.

Built in 2003 by architect Jack Jenkins and builder Hal Averett, the home is set on a large property that has served many uses over the decades—including as a holding ground during World War II and then as a cattle farm. Today, the original 1930s cottage, man-made lakes, and acreage for hunting provide the homeowners endless space to live and play. “They’re true outdoors people,” says Farrell. “That was a big pull. And the house had all the modern conveniences—including a remodeled kitchen—but in a historic style.”

The bones were there—as well as several stunning pieces sourced by local designer Joanne Gristina—which extended a strong baseline for Farrell to build upon. Tactile wallcoverings, a medley of prints, artwork, and antiques—some sourced from New York and Europe, others found by “shopping in the homeowners’ attic,” she says—impart a feeling that the family has lived there for generations.

With large, spacious rooms, the designer played with scale to ensure the home remained warm and welcoming. “I thought, let’s embrace this grand space,” she says of the foyer for which she brought in architectural designer Manuel Tan and architect Sloan Flournoy to add millwork. For a jaw-dropping moment, she used a hand-painted wallpaper that nods to the birds, trees, and flowers on the property. “That space is the nucleus of the design,” she says. “Everything relates to it, but in a subtle way.” The pastels in the entry, for example, shift from blue and green into a blush in the dining room, the color chosen to set off a portrait of the husband’s aunt as a young woman. “She looks so pretty in there,” muses Farrell.

While the entry and dining room exude an elegant Southern formality, other spaces lend themselves to an English Country vibe. Farrell refinished the pecky cypress room to its lighter, natural color, created zones for games, music, and seating—including an ottoman “for the kids to flop on,” she says—and mixed materials. “The wife loves vintage textiles,” says the designer. “Some are 150 years old.”

The bedrooms, as well, feel perfectly imperfect. In a nod to Albert Hadley and Sister Parish, Farrell used an eclectic mix of patterns and colors in the guest room. “It harkens to the 1980s, but feels fresh,” she notes. The colors in the primary—putty, chocolate, blue, and pink—are more subdued, but the layers of prints and textures remain. “Each pattern that we added helped the one before,” she says. “We kept going with that and it worked.” And following suit, the same could be said for the entire home.              

INTERIOR DESIGNER Gretchen Farrell, Gretchen Farrell Interiors, gretchenfarrell.com NEW MILLWORK Manuel Tan and Sloan Flournoy ORIGINAL ARCHITECT Jack Jenkins, Jenkins Architecture,
(706) 653-2070; jenkins-architecture.com