I’ve shown you lots of pictures of our house, but here’s some you haven’t seen.
Sorry I had to add this warning –
GRAPHIC IMAGES
DO NOT LOOK
IF YOU HAVE A HEART CONDITION
(Note: I almost didn’t do this post, because some of the photos are so ugly, but I know ya’ll love a good BEFORE/AFTER story, so here goes.)
When we bought our property, this 100-year-old farmhouse was on the property. It had loads and loads of potential, but was in a sad state. Great bones but it needed a complete overhaul. We spoke with lots of experts, wrote a list of everything that needed to be done, and drew up several house plans with possible additions.
Mr. CH’s mother was coming out here a lot with us at the time and she really wanted us to have a “PROPER” house that would be more comfortable for her visits. I guess I can see that she did not want to rough it when she came. We had no indoor plumbing, so the best we could offer was a camper potty. As a real treat, I had the electrician put an electrical box on our power pole, so we could have electricity in the house. And when I say “electricity in the house,” I mean that I used a 100-ft electrical cord to get the power from the pole to the house. From that cord, we had several other extension cords snaking around to every room that had something electrical in it. So it was not an ideal situation, considering what a tripping hazard those cords were. It did mean that I was able to cook by way of an electric skillet and a crock pot.
In the end, we decided to build a new house. I know, I know, it sounds awful to those of us that love old things, but bear with me. Fast forward to 2010. Our new house is built and we are loving it, but out my front door,
this is my view.
Although the outside looked pretty sad, the interior looked much better. The windows were original with wood sashes.
The ceilings were 10 ft, the walls were ship-lap, and the baseboards were nice and tall.
The front room had a neat archway into the dining room, and the yellow pine floors were in pretty good shape.
All of the ceilings were wood also.
The kitchen however, was very scary-looking for me.
Now that we had our new house, we had a dilemma. Should we keep the old farmhouse or sell it. Were we really going to fix up the old house now?
Pro: It would be great to have the old house as a guest house.
Pro: It would be great to use for blog posts. (I didn’t have the blog back then, but wouldn’t that have been awesome???)
Con: It was going to cost a lot of money to fix it up.
Con: It was going to take a long time to fix up.
Con: Not living at the ranch full-time, it would be difficult to supervise the work.
Well, I think you can see where I was headed. I really, really wanted to keep the old house and renovate it, but I could see that it going to be a big hassle and expense. And if we didn’t replace the roof soon, the house could have sustained some serious water damage. So in the end we decided to sell it and have it moved off the ranch. For those of you that are now gasping at how sell off a part of the ranch history, let me say that I didn’t. I mean that the house really wasn’t a part of the ranch history. The previous owner had purchased the house and had it moved to the ranch. He was an architect and planned to renovate the house, but for whatever reason, it never happened. And by the time we bought the property, the house had been sitting there unimproved for six years or so. It needed some pretty immediate intervention before the roof started leaking or something gave way.
We found buyers or should I say they found us, before we even were able to list it with an agent. The couple was so sweet and I was so glad for them to have it. There was a bit of a problem though. This is the private road to our house. Would you trust that bridge to support the house?
I didn’t think so. The house mover didn’t trust it either. So how to get a house off the property? Easy, across the neighbor’s pasture. And the house mover turned out to be the same mover that brought the house to our ranch in the first place. He brought the house in across the neighbor’s pasture and that’s the way it went out. We, of course, got the neighbor’s permission first. The movers cut the house into three pieces and moved it there in sections. I know, it sounds painful, but that’s what they had to do.
And now onto the best part. Do you want to see what it looks like now after after renovation?
They removed the front porch, and moved the front door from the front of the house around to the side of the house.
I think the new owners did a fabulous job with the house, and I truly am happy that someone is enjoying it now. I still want a guest house, so who knows, we might try a reno on a much smaller old house. Or maybe we’ll just hire someone to build it new. I think I know what Mr. CH’s vote will be.
Oh the renovated farmhouse is so adorable! They did a wonderful job…..
That is an amazing transformation.
Ooh, la la!!! My kind of house!!! Love the wood! I’m a NO Sheetrock kinda girl – you will soon see!
Blessings
I really enjoyed reading about the saving of the little house…thanks for sharing it with us!
oh the charm of old houses! 🙂
It’s wonderfullllllllll! It’s always difficult having to make a decision as to weather to keep something extremely old and charming or move on, so I totally get you and understand your delema. It’s all turned out for the best, you did a great job, and such a great post too!
Quite the dilemma,I think you solved it well. They really did do a great job!
xoxo
Kathleen
HOw wonderful that they had the $$$, time, and vision to resue the house and make it so beautiful! I know you muct be glad too. It looks beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Anita! XO, Pinky
They did a fabulous job on that house. I love it.
This is such an amazing story! I have seen so many houses like that here – our neighbor restored the oldest house in town – it does take a lot, a lot of renovation! You really need to be able to commit – oh, and they had the state historic society monitoring their renovation and giving them timelines! No thanks, our house is older, but much of the work was done ahead of us! Loved this story! Great renovation!
Kathy
fabulous decoration and nice work by restoration company. really, professionals and restorers provide the best service and renovate your home. everybody wants to keep clean your home.for decorate your home in such a different way, professionals are very important.
That is so cool! What a treat to see your old farmhouse in it’s original state and now brought back to life! What a treasure the new owners have now.
Speaking of guest houses, did you see the little “bunkie” that Sarah Richardson built on her show about her summer house? ADORABLE!!!
Its so beautiful!
Swoon! That is one beautiful thing after another! I know the work that is represented in those pictures and am so glad you shared them with us! What a nice feeling to know that you helped save the old girl! Thanks!
Oh my! What a wonderful job they did on restoring that old beauty. I definitely think you did the right thing! 🙂
Wow.. love it. When I moved into my home, there was just a shell of a house too. I should have torn it down and re-built, but that didn’t happen. We have been renovating for years and mine still looks nothing like the one you sold. I love my old house and the character it brings, but there is something to be said for NEW.. I would have loved a New house. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post!!
for a minute…I thought you were going to say it was torn down, so glad it was moved and renovated. Thank goodness, it is gorgeous!
Oh my gosh I am amazed!!! It turned out gorgeous!!
You definitely had me gasping a few times there! :o) The new owners did a wonderful job on her.
Great post, love a story with a happy ending.
Have a great week.
Smiles
What an incredible remodel (restoration)! I SO admire people who can “see” this and carry it through.
Oh, I love the new/old farmhouse! What a great job they did! Glad to know it has new life!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia 😉
This is an amazing story! What a lovely homes! I know it was a difficult decision to make too. The inside is absolutely amazing and I love the outside too! Your ranch home is also amazing! I’m so happy you have shared this story. It’s lovely!
What a special house and an amazing transformation. So glad it survived.
wow what a fabulous post, so much to smile about all around!
Now would be a good time to buy it back and tell them to bring it back on your property! LOL It turned out beautiful! You’re wanting a guest house – I’m wanting a playhouse for me and my 5grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren!
dont you wish you had it now i know i sure do. i love it and wish it was mine. thanks for sharing.
blessings
Loved all the pics. The old house had such an appeal to it; I was rooting for it to be saved! It looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing. I am such a fan of your photos!
As much as I love old houses, that would have been a HUGE effort and expense. I’m glad these people wanted it and did such a great job with it. I always wonder too, “if walls could talk”, what the history would be.
Thanks for sharing!
xo
Pat
I love the old place, and would have wanted to keep it. Weren’t you sad to see it leave? I see so much potential. It is nice to see someone else have wood walls like mine and see how they doctorate. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the post. My heart did sink when I seen that it was moving:(
That’s transformation with a capital T. Bravo to them!
I love a happy ending!
Beautiful renovation…thanks for sharing all these great photos!
🙂
Whoa! I’m amazed and I will figure out how to become a follower!
How amazing. I’m so glad you were able to get into the hands of someone who cared. It’s so beautiful now!
(Thanks for becoming a follower, I’m sure I’ll be posting as regularly as I used to as soon as I start some projects on our new ‘old’ house!)
Wonderful house!
I just love a happy ending! And I LOVE the new front porch pergola thing and the symmetry it adds to the facade. Nice to have a win/win situation for everyone!
-Revi
I loved it on your property and found it beautiful and I love it with the new owners it is simply gorgeous!
Just amazing. I have been watching the Bronson Pinchot Project lately and it reminds me a lot of that. Truly amazing!
Such a work of love. Turned out beautifully. I LOVE it!
I SO needed to stumble across your site! I live in an 80 year old Victorian type house and have been here 6 years. I’ve finally started remodeling. In the kitchen, I decided to take a peak behind the sheetrock to see how hard it would be to move a switch. I hit old beadboard. By evening all of the sheetrock on that wall was gone. But even better, when I got to the end of the beadboard, I could see behind the next wall of sheetrock were these glorious big plank boards. They are 2″ x 12″ boards and some are 12′ long. So, again all sheetrock came down. Now, I’ve found another wall of boards! I was wondering how many wood walls are too many but after looking at all of these pictures, I think there is NO limit! I kinda also really enjoy tearing down sheetrock. 🙂 I’m a new follower!!
Oh Sarah, how fun!! I’m so excited for you!!
Excellent Work and lighting look so amazing.