If you are a lover of old farmhouses, or of one old farmhouse in particular, imagine what it would be like to have the opportunity to buy that house just sort of fall into your lap. Imagine that, at the same time, you were given a pot of money that you could use to restore and refurbish that house. Sounds like a lovely dream, doesn't it? But that is pretty much what happened to me. So, the house was purchased, and now the restoration is complete. I am the proud and happy owner of the 1912 home my mother was born and raised in. It will not be leaving the family for the fate that so many old farms and farmhouses face, either left to rot and fall down or sold to a developer and destroyed. I love this house so much, and now looks almost like a new house. Some days the sense of "pinch me" is so strong! I am so blessed!
Here are some photos of the transformation. I'll try to show them in a before/after fashion.
The drainboard next to the sink as it was when we bought the house, and as it appears today after being re-porcelained. The sink was also re-porcelained; last year the basin was almost totally black.
The top 3 of these 5 photos show aspects of the kitchen as it was when we took possession of the house, with its peeling plaster, grungy linoleum, tired paint, and old metal cabinets. The bottom two photos show the kitchen as it looks today. Walls have been removed and an addition added where the back porch used to be. You can just barely see this same round table, original to the home, in the third of these five photos. The gray table used to be out on the back porch. Now, it's being used as an island. The old refrigerator was kept in the dining room because there was no space for it in the tiny kitchen. A niche was created by the carpenter to sort of hide the new refrigerator and make it so the fridge doesn't have to take up space in the kitchen. The niche is all bead board, which I love, and which carries over from the sink area, which is original bead board.
An old sink that we found in the house, and its new placement as the laundry room sink in the new addition. The faucet that I ordered online is just the right style.
The old back porch was removed, and replaced with an addition and a wrap around porch. The house has been power washed and is, again, white!
The first of these four photos shows the vanity I ordered online. I was so pleased at how well it fits into the new bathroom in the addition. I'd like to point out how perfectly the carpenter built a wider window sill that meets the top of the vanity. That's a nice, custom touch that I wouldn't have thought to ask for. It is subtle, and it is just right. The second and fourth photos show the new sun room from two different angles. The French doors in the sun room open onto the wrap around porch, a portion of which can be seen in the third photo, which Ted, Erin, and Max are enjoying. The porch was like a magnet, drawing us out each morning and evening for alfresco enjoyment of sunrises, sunsets, and rain showers.
Managing a renovation from halfway across the country is not something I would recommend to anyone. At times, it was quite stressful but it turned out about 95% perfect, and I think that is just amazing. All credit for that goes to our wonderful contractor, who has an old house of his own and seemed to have a knack for intuiting what I might like. The contractor, in turn, uses a carpenter whose amazing skills with woodworking can be seen throughout the home. The existing part of the house has been restored to a state that mimics what it must have looked like in 1912. I couldn't feel happier about how the place turned out. Next time I post I'll show before and after photos of the living room, the restored stairs, and a few other tidbits.
