Hey! I've been waiting a couple extra days to allow for anymore questions. Please always feel free to ask if you have a question!
What is the history of your house? It looks like a much older home. Do you know who lived there before? Was it part of a farm?
Hey April, I am still working on learning all the history myself!! Several family members have told us some history, but a few of the stories contradict each other, so there are still some blanks! You know how everyone seems to kind of remember things a little differently? :) I wrote a little bit of what we've been told here. I'll certainly post when I get some more information!! I'm also really trying to get a hold of an original picture!! If any family is reading this and has a picture of the original house, please let me know!! I'd love to frame one!!
What is the price comparison, do you think, to doing a fixer upper like you did, buying a move-in ready house, or building from scratch?
Well I am no expert, but I talked to my parents who are Realtors, (message me if you need help buying or selling a house in the area!! :) ) and they agree that the most economical option right now is probably new construction. There are so many add ons and extras being included to make things sell, and you can get crazy amounts of square footage for the price right now! Building from scratch can be a good option if you know exactly what you want and can STAY ON TOP OF YOUR BUILDER!! I've heard so many stories of people who built a house and ended up taking a year or even longer to build! My parents built their dream home, but were able to go to the site every day to make sure people were showing up when they were supposed to. It took them 4 months and we moved in!
Fixing up a house can go either way. I would say it depends on HOW MUCH fixing you have to do! LOL! You can find some really great deals and I know we've all seen the "Flip That House" shows. Yes, you can find a fixer upper for a good deal, but you can also end up spending far more money than you planned!! Be extra careful if you are dealing with an old house. I have mentioned multiple times that our "budget" was blown after a few months! LOL! There are so many things hidden in renovating and you can't do anything about it once you get to it. Just like when we PLANNED to just add on upstairs and then ripped the roof off only to find that our porch was completely rotten and inches from falling off the house. What can ya do?! You have to fix it! Always double your budget and be prepared! :)
I absolutely LOVE your home and adore your kitchen. We are getting ready to sell our first home and rent for a bit of time while we build our home. I was wondering about the bead board in the kitchen and the color of it, I love it. Is it what is used when doing wainscoting? Also, I love your kitchen table. Where did you get it from?
Thank you so much Nicole!! Congrats on building! The bead board in the kitchen can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot! It is sold a couple different ways and in different sizes, but we bought it by the sheet. I believe it was 4ft by 8ft and was around $20. I am obsessed with it and have used it all over the house!! It's very thin so it's easy to cut and put up. We used an air gun and small finishing nails, but I have heard of people using liquid nails as well. The kitchen paint is called "Rain" by Sherwin Williams. The table came from a store called SouthEastern Salvage. I wanted something rustic and really big and sturdy that will outlast us all. I love naturally distressed wood that doesn't show kid dents and scratches! :)
If you've ever dreamed of remodeling an old farmhouse, you've come to the right place. My husband and I had that same dream, and we followed it. This blog will either feed your dream, or make you run (REALLY quickly) for the hills. This is our story.
Val, I have been asking my aunt's if there is a picture of the orginial house. I think we have one. But I have to make sure it is the correct picture. We had a cookbook made up from my Grandmother's (Granny)side of the family (Leaphart)and it has some pictures in the cookbook. My aunts have told me that the front picture of the cookbook is a picture of the original house. I am still researching for you. Also their is a painting of the house. So we will have to see what we can do.
ReplyDeleteThe house was bulit before the Civil War. All the property was a land grant from the King of England. Once my grandmother became the owner of the house. She did split the land up among the children (total of 6) 5 girls and 1 boy. All but two sisters live on the property. The road that it is on is named after the ferry that took people back and forth when the lake was created. The road beside the house was named after a small town that is now under the lake. Vali where your bathroom is now is part of the original house. That is why it is concrete. Where Lisa's house and Mary's house is use to be the barn and my grandfather had cows he raised. I am sure in the yard you can see the original watering trouph. Across the road from the house where the huge house is was nothing but farm land for the family. Every spring my grandfather would plant everything from corn to potates for the family. We would pick it every summer. I will have to look at the Leaphart book and I can give you more information about the house. Right now that is what I know off the top of my head. Hope this helps.