Transformation of a 1870's Farmhouse

"Dont let the fear of time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway, we might as well put that passing time to the best possible use"

- Earl Nightingale

I thought this quote was fitting for this post. This b&b project has been taking FOREVER! My big goal for October is to finally start moving over to the farm house. With only 1 renovation left at the guest house I'm ready to start the next big chapter. The early close of flower growing season (thanks Irene!!) has helped me shift gears and get ready to spend this fall and winter creating the bed and breakfast vibe over at the main house. With a total of 7 rooms on the farm its been one bite at a time, overwhelming task to get it all renovated and decorated. But feeling like the last 3 rooms are on the horizon.

Labor Day Weekend was spent packing away alot of old family photos and books - Ironically I stumbled upon some inspiration I really needed - a photo album full of pictures from when my parents first bought this farm in the mid-1990's. It was a documentary of all the construction they poured into the farm during the first 2 years. I uploaded a few of the best shots for the blog so future visitors and followers can what has gone into the making of this place.

Hardly recognized this pic as the original farmhouse! (circa 1870) but it brings back memories!! Summer of 1996 I can remember our family driving down the unpaved dirt road to the house to meet with the real estate agent for the first walk-through. Even as a kid I had one of those jaw-dropping moments as we drove up. Hell, dad refused to even get out of the car (his first knee-jerk reaction for the majority of my moms real estate projects, lol!).

As my kid sister and I opened the car door to explore this place, we were collectively horrified and slightly afraid to set foot inside; the old house smell filled our lungs, failing floor boards and creek-ing doors were less than welcoming, and a porch ceiling infested with wasps nests and the buzz of flying stinging insects all around had us on edge. It was the kind of house that gave you a fight or flight response.

One of the most vivid memories is of my dad finally getting out and walking the perimeter, shaking his head the whole time, grumbling how "ALL this place needed was a good wrecking ball!" Even me, (16 at the time) thought mom and dad were downright nuts for the amount of work this was going to require. It was uninhabitable for years to come.

Of course, my mother was un-moved by the farms sad state of neglect, massive amount of labor needed, and horrified gasps from the rest of the family. She could no doubt visualize the entire transformation before the first contractor was on the job. She has a gift of vision and determination!

Here's a few photo highlights from the first 2 years of my parents renovation efforts:

Back of the house, ready to get its pitiful 1960's addition torn off.

Dad with tractor enjoying some good old fashion demo. No doubt mom was having to continually shoo him and his tractor away from the rest of the house!

Making a clean break for the new great room addition.

Removing the old tin roof, laying the concrete foundation for the new room.

New great room addition going up.

cute pic of ma - waving from upstairs. Addition of laundry room downstairs.

Addition of an bathroom between the two upstair bedrooms.

Only 1 tragic bathroom in the entire house was not going to do.

Kitchen gutted...oh dear total rehab to say the least...many walls came down to open up the flow.

New open airy farmhouse kitchen, and my new inspiration for cooking, learning, teaching.

Many breakfasts creations to come!

The whole farmhouse was gutted and ripped down to studs...amazing what the walls of an old house can contain...snakes, old newspapers, wild animals, coke bottles, liquor bottles, even some hidden guns found between the panels. I recall how finding a wad of crumbling yellow newspapers would bring demo to a crawl as we would have to take a moment to read what this time capsule of a house had been through in history.

More than a few dumpsters were filled for sure, but original pine floors were salvaged and kept in what is now the sitting room area:

Original woodwork from staircase and ity-bitty stairway (luckily wallpaper was drop-kicked heehee!)

Start of the master bedroom and another bath addition.

Well as you can see, alot of work has been done to get to this point and more is still needed. I have much to look forward to with only smaller renovations left, decorating and making this place my own. The hard part has been done!

Mental list already forming - Need a cool butcher block table for the kitchen, large inviting couch for the great room, and themed bedrooms with personality.

All in all, got alot done in the way of cleaning and packing during this long weekend along with some much needed motivation through photos.

Even stopped a minute this weekend to enjoying a sunset moment with loudly purring kitty - Every b&b should have a front porch kitty right?

Once a shy guy he's starting to become a major ham anymore - Seems as if he is Purrfecting his job skill of guest greeter!