30 Sep 2021 a chance encounter… a happy home
By Donna Benton
Interior design photos by Makenzie Evans
The sun was setting over the glassy Arkansas River. A sea of cowboy hats swaggered to and fro as Justin Moore belted out a tune from beneath a straw Stetson.
“Has he kissed you in a hay field as a summer rain falls down? Has he took you to meet his mama back in his hometown?”
Lane was out with the boys on a Saturday night. Dana went along with the girls even though she wasn’t much of a country music fan. As the standing-room only crowd shuffled, swayed, and sang along, Lane caught Dana’s eye and made a gentlemanly gesture, offering for the girls to move ahead to the front row for a better view. Introductions were made, both straining to hear over the reveling crowd singing along in a jangled harmony.
“Does he drive the interstate or does he take them ol’ back roads? Can he melt your heart with a country song every good ol’ boy should know?”
“I have a daughter named Marley!” Dana yelled over the crowd. “I have a daughter named Charlee!” Lane yelled back with a beaming smile. If this were a movie, the camera would pan away overhead as the pair locked gazes, oblivious to the country crooner and the crowded field, and the viewer would know that this was much more than a chance encounter. “To be quite honest, I thought it was a pick-up line to woo me over,” remembers Dana. “Little did I know it would turn into a full-blown family. Daughters just eight months apart with rhyming names! It was truly meant to be, right?”
The sun was setting over the glassy Arkansas River. A sea of cowboy hats swaggered to and fro as Justin Moore belted out a tune from beneath a straw Stetson.
“Has he kissed you in a hay field as a summer rain falls down? Has he took you to meet his mama back in his hometown?”
Lane was out with the boys on a Saturday night. Dana went along with the girls even though she wasn’t much of a country music fan. As the standing-room only crowd shuffled, swayed, and sang along, Lane caught Dana’s eye and made a gentlemanly gesture, offering for the girls to move ahead to the front row for a better view. Introductions were made, both straining to hear over the reveling crowd singing along in a jangled harmony.
“Does he drive the interstate or does he take them ol’ back roads? Can he melt your heart with a country song every good ol’ boy should know?”
“I have a daughter named Marley!” Dana yelled over the crowd. “I have a daughter named Charlee!” Lane yelled back with a beaming smile. If this were a movie, the camera would pan away overhead as the pair locked gazes, oblivious to the country crooner and the crowded field, and the viewer would know that this was much more than a chance encounter. “To be quite honest, I thought it was a pick-up line to woo me over,” remembers Dana. “Little did I know it would turn into a full-blown family. Daughters just eight months apart with rhyming names! It was truly meant to be, right?”
“My husband and I were quite the design team, and when we built our home, we made every decision together. We have similar design aesthetics and we both loved the modern farmhouse vibe. My focus was on creating budget friendly beautiful spaces where I could find visual inspiration every day. Working from home, I wanted my surroundings to be beautiful and calm. But I also wanted functional spaces where my kids could be kids.”
Dana and Lane created an ideal space for entertaining. The open layout and vaulted ceilings are great for gathering, and a wall of windows floods the living room with natural light. The large back porch extends the living space to the back yard, where they host summertime barbecues at the built-in grill. An outdoor fireplace warms up the porch on fall weekends, when the whole family cozies up, listens to music, and cooks at the outdoor kitchen.
Dana keeps her home festively decked for every season and holiday. “I get my love of entertaining from my grandmother, Lee Wallace,” says Dana. “My grandfather was a colonel in the U.S. Army and she used to host all their holiday parties. And my love of seasonal decor comes from my mom, Leslie Clements. She raised me as a single mom and always made every holiday magical. It never was with things that cost a lot of money; it was just always so thoughtful. Whether it was grape juice in plastic champagne glasses for New Year’s or green cut-out card stock shamrocks all over the house for St. Patrick’s Day. I now share the same love of making each season magical for my girls. For fall, we have a number of traditions from annual trips to the pumpkin patch to hot apple cider around the fire pit. We also started a big cul-de-sac fall festival, where each home hosts games for the kids and gives out fun treats before we go trick or treating on a hayride.”
“Creating seasonal spaces doesn’t have to cost a lot of money,” says Dana. “To create a fall atmosphere, I take lots of inspiration from nature, using beautiful branches or clippings from outside for indoor arrangements and pinecones or small gourds for accents. I create warmth with blankets and pillows.”
Whatever the season or holiday, you can be sure that festivities are happening here. Dana shares her home décor, seasonal styling, and entertaining tips on her Instagram page @ourfergusonfarmhouse.
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