colonial farmhouse
Colonial Farmhouse Two Year Anniversary
Put on your party hats, people! Today is our Colonial Farmhouse Two Year Anniversary! It feels like we’ve lived here for only a minute and also forever, but in reality it has been exactly two years. Two years is actually a long time for us to live in any one place. It is usually a little before the two year mark that I get the itch to move. I get antsy for change. Ready for a new adventure. I’m not saying I don’t have that itch now, but that antsy feeling is tempered by our life stage and changing priorities. Plus, I have plenty to keep me busy around here!…
Updating Our Home With Antique Hardware
We have been replacing “modern” door and cabinet hardware with antique hardware in our Colonial Farmhouse and it is surprising how big of a difference it makes to the overall look and style of our home. I’m using the term modern very loosely. In a house that is 240 years old, anything in the last 100 years could be considered modern. Most of the hardware we’ve replaced is probably 20 – 30 years old. I doubt it was installed as a style statement, but more of a practical response to a “this cabinet door no longer stays closed” situation. This modern hardware didn’t look bad. It didn’t look good. It…
How to Fill Gaps in Wood Floors with Oakum
For the small percentage of you living in really old houses (bless you!), let me share one of the more historically accurate ways to fill gaps in wood floors with oakum. This is the information I needed when we bought our Colonial Farmhouse and didn’t know what to do about the gaps between the original wood floorboards. I had to comb through the internet to find bits and pieces of information, so I’m combining what I learned all in one place with links out to the information that helped me. If the gaps in your wood floors don’t bother you, leave them. But if your kids can push things through…
The Great Barn Loft Clean Out
Last month we tackled The Great Barn Loft Clean Out. Did we accumulate THAT MUCH junk in less than two years of owning the Colonial Farmhouse that we needed to clean out the barn loft? No. But… Here’s an itty bitty detail that’s important to this story. We had never looked in the barn loft before last month. That’s right. We bought the property with the barn loft sight unseen and then ignored it for almost two years. Who does that? Us, apparently. In our defense, the loft doors were nailed shut and it’s not like we weren’t busy dealing with all the other problems this money pit house of…
Which Category of Kitchen Art Do You Have?
I’ve thought a lot about it and applied zero scientific reasoning to my theory, but it seems to me kitchen art falls into 5 categories: Food themed because it is a kitchen, DUH! Non-food themed because you have a rebellious streak. Child-themed because your refrigerator is covered in child masterpieces. Just a clock because the clocks on the appliances aren’t enough to get you out of the house on time. Who are we kidding? Nothing gets you out of the house on time. No art at all because minimalism is grand. Actually, there could be a bunch of reasons for no art at all, but being a minimalist has a…
Built-In Computer Desks One Year Later
When we constructed built-in computer desks for our kids we didn’t do it with a pandemic and remote school in mind. Our pessimistic nature really let us down on that front. We just needed a place for our kids to realize their lofty career aspirations of becoming YouTube stars that play Roblox and Fortnite. See how supportive we are? Not supportive enough to give them cushy chairs to make them comfortable dabbling with this dream though. We truly didn’t anticipate the office and those built-in computer desks becoming the hardest working space in our house besides the kitchen. The kitchen is always the hardest working space, right? But then the…
Colonial Farmhouse Kitchen Mini Makeover One Year Later
Do you know what I enjoy more than a room makeover reveal? Learning how that makeover is holding up over time. Instead of the pretty spaces, give me all of the hard-working, well-loved spaces that shine. Last January we did a Colonial Farmhouse Kitchen Mini Makeover that mainly involved staining the cabinets and changing the backsplash grout color in our kitchen. To get the full impact of this kitchen mini makeover I need to take you on a quick trip down memory lane. The below photo is how the Colonial Farmhouse Kitchen looked when we purchased the place in June 2019. I know I say this every time I show a before picture, but that…
Colonial Farmhouse Upstairs Bathroom Before
Our Colonial Farmhouse upstairs bathroom has remain untouched since the day we moved in. In many ways, this upstairs bathroom has likely remained untouched for at least half a century. It is a bathroom time capsule! We all know in every time capsule there is something tucked inside that makes you say, “Why was that put in there?” All the things in this time capsule make me say that. After almost two years of living in the Colonial Farmhouse, I’m finally ready to give this upstairs bathroom a small update. Here’s a taste of how the upstairs bathroom looks in all its “before” glory. Hmm…was taste the wrong word to use for a sentence about…
New Bedroom Rug
My Christmas present was a new bedroom rug and I am OBSESSED. Obsessed might be an over-dramatization of my feelings. My new bedroom rug does make me smile every time I walk in our bedroom though. I think my heart sighs contentedly too, but I’m not sure if that’s a real thing or just what I imagine my heart doing in there besides, you know, keeping me alive. The biggest surprise to me (Yes, I can still surprise myself.) is that I chose a rug with some dusty reds in it. I am old enough to have lived through the early 2000s when everyone was painting an accent wall in their home red. I…
Our 2021 House Project Plans
Our 2021 House Project Plans are a bit laughable. Don’t get me wrong, they are solid plans coupled with good intentions to improve this old house we live in. But let’s all remember who is in charge here. The house. The house is in charge. We will do our best to tackle our 2021 House Project Plans, but we’ve also learned to roll with the punches this house and life, in general, dishes out. In no particular order, here are our 2021 House Project Plans.#1: Hope That Nothing Catastrophic Happens Hope doesn’t cost us a thing. We’ll also add praying, begging, and crossing fingers to the list.#2: Replace Sunporch Floor We like to play a fun game in our…
