What Happens When a Young Couple Trades a Chicago Condo for a Farm Outside the City

Palmer House — Palmer Farm is named for the couple who adopted it: Margaret Rajic Palmer and Matt Palmer. “We’re hard users of the kitchen, three times a day,” Margaret says, so their renovation of the property’s 19th-century farmhouse prioritized that worn-out space. They economized by mostly keeping the existing layout, aside from moving the fridge a few steps around a corner. Prepainted Shaker-style cabinetry from The Home Depot (glammed up with brass hardware) tucks under wooden countertops; floating shelves and ripply subway tile air out the wall above. Photo: Margaret Rajic; Styling by Jenny Officer

On Palmer Farm in in Barrington Hills, a pastoral suburb outside Chicago, Margaret Rajic Palmer and husband Matt Palmer have no need to binge-watch TV. They have chickens.

"These girls are some of the busiest, most dramatic little creatures you could meet," Margaret says, laughing as she pulls open the Dutch door of the 1,600-square-foot farmhouse. Sure enough, at the creak of the hinge, seven hens (and one "oops, I guess you're a rooster") abandon the grass they've been pecking. The whole mob speed-walks to the door, squawking their demands for a treat. Except Birdie, who pulls her head out of the ground a full minute later, notices she's alone and careens wildly across the driveway before ducking into the flock like she hopes no one will notice.

A little late and a little uncooperative is Birdie's way, Margaret says. She would know: She and Matt watch the flock's antics with the riveted attention most of us gave Ted Lasso. They live and work on the 5-acre farm (she as an interiors photographer, he in the tech field) and are slowly rehabbing the property, dedicating themselves to morning and evening chores, planting vegetables, collecting eggs, and learning to live by the sun and seasons.

If this all sounds like your favorite daydream, Margaret and Matt understand. Both in their late 20s, the Palmers spent the previous decade embracing the urban hustle of New York City and Chicago. They had full work schedules and weekends packed with concerts and coffee dates. But in the back of their minds, they had a five-year plan to give it all up for land and the slow life. Margaret even started horseback riding lessons.

Then the pandemic hit. "All the reasons we were staying in the city—the restaurants, the people—that went away," Margaret says. "We found ourselves visiting my mom in Barrington every weekend and falling in love with everything it had to offer."

Five years turned into right now as the couple unloaded their condo, found a former dairy farm and moved in with Margaret's mom during renovations. They earmarked the carriage house's in-law suite for light updates to host guests, planned a fuller remodel for the Cape Cod-style farmhouse, and launched an Instagram (@palmer_farm) to document the journey.

Margaret Rajic Palmer

We have a little house, so we only have the things we use every day.

—Margaret Rajic Palmer

Matt took their move to the country as a cue to pick up carpentry. So far, he’s built new barn doors, barn stalls, raised garden beds and a mounting block for Margaret and the horses.

In the living room, the couple sanded orange varnish off of the original wide-plank floors and brushed on a whitewash stain. Black paint turned the ho-hum stair railing into a showpiece.

Margaret’s office (and Bear’s snooze spot) has original plank walls and floors. They were already painted, so the Palmers embraced that. They just touch up the white as needed.

Matt took their move to the country as a cue to pick up carpentry. So far, he’s built new barn doors, barn stalls, raised garden beds and a mounting block for Margaret and the horses. PHOTO: Alisha Siegel

In the living room, the couple sanded orange varnish off of the original wide-plank floors and brushed on a whitewash stain. Black paint turned the ho-hum stair railing into a showpiece. PHOTO: Margaret Rajic; Styling by Jenny Officer

Margaret’s office (and Bear’s snooze spot) has original plank walls and floors. They were already painted, so the Palmers embraced that. They just touch up the white as needed. PHOTO: Margaret Rajic; Styling by Jenny Officer

The dated kitchen got new cabinets and appliances. A small second bedroom upstairs became a roomy bathroom. And the two painted, applied beadboard, wallpapered and hung additional barn doors until the old house was ready for next-gen living. "We basically touched everything," Margaret says.

The couple did a lot of the work themselves, relishing the hard labor and new skills. Putting the land and barns in order was even more rewarding. They cleared an overgrown trail by hand, one weekend at a time. Matt googled "how to build more barn stalls," then actually did it. "It's been so satisfying seeing the results," he says.

Evie sits by a secondhand bookshelf the couple outfitted with fresh paint and drawer pulls.

The couple removed a freestanding bench in the mudroom to have more wiggle room for the dogs, then DIY’d the beadboard walls and barn door to Margaret’s office, all painted in Benjamin Moore’s Essex Green HC-188. Margaret’s longtime client, Kira Obermeier, designed the window seat cushion and consulted on many finishes in the home.

Evie sits by a secondhand bookshelf the couple outfitted with fresh paint and drawer pulls. PHOTO: Margaret Rajic; Styling by Jenny Officer

After two years, Matt finally invested in a tractor. Margaret recalls their Halloween party last year, when he "accidentally" left the garage door open so everyone could see. "He's the most modest person, yet he did this weird tractor flex," she jokes. "He's all in." They both are—and not just because of pride of place (or tractors). "I struggle with anxiety, and having a routine that's done with my hands, like getting up and taking care of the horses or weeding, it rightsizes any mental situation," Margaret says. "This is the most rewarding long game. It's a lifetime project for us."

"In the fall, the bugs are gone, the ground isn’t sloshy like in the spring, and the leaves and everything else are gorgeous,” Margaret says. She and Matt make the most of the season, hosting a big Halloween party and parking around the firepit to catch the sunset.

Margaret’s office has French doors that open to a patio and outdoor dining area. Her work for interior designers and publications gave her a roster of pros to turn to for advice during the reno.

Margaret papered the kitchen’s table nook with Sandberg Wallpaper’s Raphael in White, a subtle pattern she fell for while shooting a client project. A wraparound banquette makes the most of the small space, which is the home’s only indoor dining spot.

Margaret’s office has French doors that open to a patio and outdoor dining area. Her work for interior designers and publications gave her a roster of pros to turn to for advice during the reno. PHOTO: Margaret Rajic; Styling by Jenny Officer

Margaret Rajic Palmer

We purposely don't plan trips in the summer or fall for fear of missing out on the best time of year here. I haven't for a second missed having more options.

—Margaret Rajic Palmer

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