Skipping Ahead

On the farmhouse reno, let's skip along and avoid all those non-interesting details like electricity and get back to the fun stuff.

Next on our to-do list is to build back the walls, this time with drywall. Here is a look at the walls going up-

Isn't it crazy how much a difference the walls alone make? No texture, no smoothing and sanding, just actual walls.

In the kitchen, we decided to open up the side of the staircase to allow for more room and to make the stairs feel less like an old dungeon.

It's really starting to come together now!

Demo Days

Back to work on the farmhouse...

I had some really cute helpers demo some of the walls and kitchen cabinets. It was a dirty job but it was satisfying to get a dumpster full of old plaster, trim and other misc. garbage.

I won't bore you with all the demo photos of each room but here's an idea of what it looked like naked.

Landing Wall Upstairs

Old Bathroom Upstairs

Kitchen Emptied

Wall in MF Bedroom Emptied

Demo Kitchen

Upstairs we uncovered a signature by the person who probably built the house. We had one like it in our old house that we framed out. But this one was too far gone and crumbled into pieces. I did get this picture though.

The upstairs closet that used to be super dark and creepy....now empty and far less scary!

In the kitchen, we uncovered old oak floors! They had a large patch missing tho so they will get covered up. :(

On the rest of the main floor, we found fur floors which were probably the original subfloors.

Here is the pile of false floor torn up and the kitchen floor exposed. I'm pretty sad we couldn't use it.

Here's a better picture of the kitchen floor.

This process seems easy but with baseball, softball and tball, it was quite a challenge to complete! One dumpster gone, several more to go!

Switching Gears

I wrote previously about also acquiring a lakehouse early last year. I thought in honor of the 4th of July holiday, we'd switch gears and I would give you a virtual tour of what it looked like when we bought it.

It's a cute little 1920s bungalow about four blocks off the water and six blocks from downtown. I affectionately named it the Blue Bungalow however my family is split in deciding if it is in fact blue or grey.

So summery, huh?

It has a big front porch which is a fun area to relax. It's in need of some repairs so that's on the list to improve.

When you enter the front door you are in the long narrow living room, which is a trick to lay furniture out in-

In my opinion, the previous owner had everything turned around. But you'll have to wait to see what I've done with it.

Then you walk through old pocket doors to the "dining room" which I had big plans for...

It had a lovely island that I knew we could reuse. It also has hardwood floors throughout the home which we'll revisit in another post.

Just off the dining room is what the previous owner used as the laundry/dressing room which also includes this small bath. It's kind of strangely laid out but we plan on turning this room into another bedroom/living space.

Lastly on the main floor was the kitchen which was super small, almost like a butler's pantry and very dated. It was clearly done in the 90s.

Going up the stairs, there's a closet and window on the landing and a beautiful old staircase. And then a window at the top of the steps looking out our backyard.

The house sits on a corner lot, so there's lots of yard considering it's in a lake town. Which is good because we have a big family and two big dogs. :)

At the top of the steps is another full bathroom but it's under the eaves, so it has sloped ceilings.

Going down the hall are three bedrooms, two across from each other and the master is at the end.

Both bedrooms were painted the exact same green. And both had carpet and nice-sized closets. All the bedrooms have sloped ceilings as well.

The master is fairly spacious. It can fit a king-sized bed and the front windows look to the south, the direction of the lake.

This is looking out our back door from the kitchen. And then there is an old basement that doesn't really require a tour.

If you know me, I can't leave well enough alone. :) I can see what a place should be and its potential. There have been many changes since we first toured the property. We've been busy!

It isn't much, but it's ours. And it truly is my happy place. I can't wait to show you all the projects we've done to it and many more to come! Hope you've enjoyed your tour!