Yes, we are back and we are going to be here to stay. We had a pretty busy year and we are not taking care of the website and the blog but that is over now. We recently took advantage of the robust housing market and low interest rates to get our forever home. This was a great find for us and we are looking forward to showing you all of the transformation we put this one through. The story of our previous gem will continue as well under the page the first faux farmhouse on the website.
During the process of selling the first faux farmhouse and looking for the forever home we learned a few things. First, there is a whole lot of bad out there. It’s amazing the condition that people will sell a house in all I can say is WOW!!! with an OMG!!! on the back. Second, we were genuinely humbled by the reaction to the decorating and decor in the first faux farmhouse. Finally, we were also humbled by the reaction and admiration for the work the hubs (@theheatheredhandyman) did and all of the things that he built. So we have decided to diligently share our work and ideas through this blog and our social media accounts to help any of you out there with your own homes.
So let’s dive into the forever home. Just a little overview we bought a 2000 sq ft one story house that is about 18 years old. The basic house is exactly what we wanted it has a three car garage (workspace for the hubs), a beautiful overhang, all one story and a corner lot with a nice secluded backyard. It has two living spaces, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The real problems are the house really needed to be updated and whole interior was painted soul sucking beige no contrast only the wood floors that were a plus. These problems are solvable thank god. We closed on the house on Monday and started to move in that day. The movers came with the Upack containers on Tuesday and we got busy as soon as they were done so that will be counted as day one.
On a side note as if moving in wasn’t enough the hubs came up with an idea. The movers were bringing the washer and dryer sooo Miguel decided it was a good idea to throw a new floor down in the laundry room under where they were going to go so he did not have to move them later. I told him he was insane but he did it anyway right before they got there. Oh yeah cuz this is what happens round these parts last minute side jobs. Yep we’re nuts!!! We used the Traffic Master vinyl plank from Home Depot. The floor looks great we have used it before and it is so easy to put down. The floor is also really durable. We will post some pictures of that when we get to the laundry room.
The first order of business (actually the second if you count the laundry room floor UGH) with his house is to immediately do a total kitchen make over. Maybe not down to the studs but almost, boy is Miguel going to be a busy man. Floor space wise the kitchen is the same size as the first faux but it was closed in all beige and blah. Above, the picture on the left is from the real estate listing the one on the right is from day one. The listing picture does way too much justice to the house. The room has an awesome 10 foot high ceiling and that ugly florescent light had to go. So Miguel got rid of that monstrosity as the first order of business with a chandelier we brought with us. Day one complete.
We decided to go with a similar look from the first faux and have a open shelf look with a new custom vent hood by the theheatheredhandyman. Below is the listing picture from the other side of the kitchen. Notice the wonderful pony wall that steals the space from the entire space and the awful linoleum floor.
The plan was to do some shiplap, get new counter tops, new appliances, paint the lower cabinets and do something with the floor. So to borrow a line from the Magnolia team its #demoday. Miguel decided to take a couple pictures of the kitchen every morning when the work started from the same angles. The two pictures below are from Wednesday morning or day two.
What an unmitigated disaster right!! This is what moving and renovating at the same time looks like in real life.
Day two started with removing the cabinets off of the back wall to prepare for the shiplap.We planned on just doing one wall at a time. In the first faux we used luan cut into strips as the shiplap and we whitewashed it with watered down ceiling paint. This time we came up with a wonderful new idea. We started using 5 1/2 inch fence pickets instead. The thought was to give the wall a much more authentic look and much more texture. This did involve a bit more work for the hubs be he is trooper and believed in the vision. The fence pickets work good as shiplap but there are a few tips that we should share. First, the fence pickets are usually not all the way dry so don’t leave much of a gap because it will get bigger. Second, this will cause some issue around electric outlets because of the thickness they sell extenders you can put on the boxes at Lowe’s. Last, brush the boards off after you cut them and before you put them up the sawdust will fall off for days.
The pictures below are from Thursday morning or day three and where we are going to leave off for this post. Look for new posts weekly or subscribe to be alerted to new material. Also look for a couple new pages to be added about our previous home projects and theheatheredhandyman projects.
Thanks everyone see you soon!
the.heathered.farmhouse 