Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1532781
HGTV stars Leanne Ford and Grace Mitchell were shopping for antiques in Round Top and bought a dreamy, 145-year-old farmhouse instead. The best part: You can stay in it. By Rebecca Sherman Photography Sarah Barlow and Reid Rolls One day last year, best pals and HGTV design stars Leanne Ford and Grace Mitchell were shopping in Round Top, their favorite antiques destination, some 90 miles west of Houston. Ford lives in Pennsylvania, and Mitchell is from Fort Worth; despite the distance, they've made countless trips to the Texas Hill Country design Mecca for their interiors projects and TV shows. This time, they unearthed a totally unexpected heirloom. "We didn't buy any treasures, but we did buy a house together," Ford says. "The property had just listed the day we got in town." Set on 2.5 wooded acres, their 1880s farmhouse is just minutes from Round Top. "The existing house was already done — but not Grace and Leanne done," Ford says. The ink was barely dry on the paperwork before they dashed off to shop their favorite Round Top vendors, all for a house they technically didn't own yet. Most of 2024 was spent renovating and furnishing the farmhouse, dubbed 'Round the Round in honor of a massive round dining table squeezed into the kitchen — a splendid gathering spot. Mitchell says, "We knew this was someplace we wanted to bring our families and spend time. Round Top is special; there's no other place like it in the world. We both wanted to be a part of the town — locals. We even have library cards now." They visit off-season, which allows them to rent out the farmhouse during Round Top's thrice-yearly antiques shows, when the town swells from 90 to more than 100,000 people. A stylist turned interior designer, Leanne Ford first caught the public's imagination when she turned a 1907 schoolhouse in her hometown of Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, into a house. The project was featured in Country Living magazine in 2015 and showcased the white-on-white color palette and raw, neutral materials that have become her signature. Calls from HGTV followed, and she has starred with her brother Steve Ford on two of the network's shows, Restored by the Fords and Home Again with the Fords. She also has collections with Crate & Barrel and Target. Grace Mitchell's design blog, Glass cabinet from Jersey Junker, Round Top. Calacatta Rosa marble from Aria Stone Gallery. 61