Restoring Our Old Farm House No. 3 - Living Room

As I continue to share about the remodeling of our old farm house, I'm moving on to the living room today. Originally, the living room had a window on each side of the fireplace. There were two doors on the wall visible below. One went into what is now our bedroom and one was a closet that was built out into the same room. The15 x 15 ft room had four doors and four windows...can you imagine?

We removed the window to the left of the fireplace and the two doors leading to the bedroom. We also took out the low ceiling. We used boards from the walls we removed in the kitchen to cover the holes left behind. Every inch of the entire house was walled with 1 x 12 boards from floor to ceiling even inside the closets and the wood was so hard you could barely drive a nail through it.

The new wood floors continued from the dining area into the living area.

My favorite part of the room is the fireplace. Mark did a terrific job with the design and I gave it a great paint job, if I do say so myself! We used slate tiles and added a gas stove insert. It is exactly what I envisioned.

 We also removed the door leading into the dining room and created an entryway.

Here's a look at the before and after together...

 

 ...it makes me tired just thinking about it!

Here's a Heart Rock for your pocket:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.Isaiah 43:1

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

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Decorating with Vintage Fans

Fans have always been a part of my life. I admit, I'm addicted to them. I can't sleep without one humming next to the bed. It's pitiful, but I love my fans! 

I grew up in East Texas in an old farm house with no air conditioning. If you haven't experienced a Texas summer, let me tell you, it's just plain old HOT! As a child, fans were always humming and breezes always blowing. I didn't know any different, it was just life!

I began collecting old fans a long time ago and have displayed them in my home for years. I have a couple on top of the fridge in the kitchen...

...a few more on top of a cabinet in the dining area...

...and one in the living room.

The ZERO's are my favorites...I think!? I have three different sizes and colors and like them grouped together.

I don't run the old fans, but just their presence is somehow comforting. 

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles... 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

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Papaw's Old Schwinn Bike

My Aunt recently asked me if I would like to have my Papaw's old bike and of course I said, "YES"! He was ninety-seven when he died and had he lived would have been ninety-nine this 4th of July weekend. To say that he was a character is a serious understatement!

A couple of weeks ago my boys were home for the weekend so we drove over to my Grandparents home place. We walked around the house and relived old memories. I explained to Levi that this is where I came to visit my grandparents when I was a kid just like him. I showed him where the tree swing used to be. We picked up black walnuts in the back yard. I told him how I used to play "Annie Over" with my cousins at the well house. I took him inside the well house so he could see where Grandma would drop the bucket and pull up icy cold water and how we would drink from a long handled dipper and pass it around. The bucket is no longer there but I was able to show him the big pulley and rope that she used. I showed him where the tree used to be that we made homemade ice-cream under and how we would take turns sitting on the freezer while Papaw turned the handle. I showed him the potato house and explained how Papaw was a farmer and would store his potatoes here. Then we went to the shed and found the bike. Andy loaded it up for me and we brought it home.

I've propped it up against the shop for now.

It's a Schwinn. I wish I knew exactly how old it is...

...old enough to have been painted a few times. It's solid as a rock and almost too heavy to pick up.

One of these days I'll pass it on to my boys!

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:
Jesus said: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine 

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Restoring Our Old Farm House No 2 - Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home so that's where I'll begin our remodeling tour. I must warn you the before pictures are pretty scary and if you think it looks bad, you should have smelled it and felt it. It was July in Texas!

The bottom cabinets had red Bakelite handles, which I salvaged.

This photo was taken standing in the kitchen looking into what is now the dining area. We removed this wall and the low ceilings to open the kitchen and dining into one large room with vaulted ceilings. I wish I had taken a picture the day we pulled the ceilings down. You cannot even imagine the mess it created.

You'll notice a lot of time passed between the the first set of pictures and the one above. There was a lot of work to be done before we could begin the pretty parts. All new electrical, all new plumbing and septic system, all new water lines and gas lines, central heat and air, insulation, new roof, all new windows, two layers of old exterior siding removed, new siding installed, walls and doors removed, ceilings torn out...

 ...old sheet-rock torn out, ancient wallpaper pulled down, new sheet-rock installed and new wood floors installed. You should know that we are 30 miles, one way, from Home Depot.

It was very exciting when things began to take shape.

We installed pine plank ceilings throughout the house and adapted galvanized barn lights to be used in the kitchen/dining room.

Here Mark is laying the new wood floors. He started in the farthest corner of the house and worked his way to the front door.

We planned the cabinet layout and purchased the units individually and assembled them ourselves.

I chose to use drawers in all the bottom cabinets and ten years later I still love them. I also used a sheet of galvanized metal as the back splash for my stove which works great! Rather than upper cabinets all the way across, I chose to have windows on both sides of the stove. I love to be able to see outside!

Bead board fills the space between the upper and lower cabinets.

Here is a current picture of the same area. I've added an island using an old table with casters and a wine rack from the springs of a baby bed (we'll save that for another day).

Here's a Heart Rock for your pocket:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

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A Little Something Lovely... No 4

I was out picking veggies one evening this week and found this little guy hanging out in my asparagus. I was bent down looking for cucumbers and when I turned around he was right there, eye ball to eye ball, watching me. At first he startled me, within inches of my face, and then when he didn't flee I realized this was probably his first trip from the nest and he was too weak and scared to flee. Bless his heart! His mama was standing guard and throwing a fit to distract me. Bless her heart, too! 

Baby Mockingbird

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

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Radio Flyer Wagon on the Front Porch

Earlier this month, I shared my front porch with you. (you can see it here) It was several days afterwards that I realized I didn't include the picture I had taken of my wagon, so now it gets to be in the spotlight alone. 

I had been wanting an old Radio Flyer for my front porch, but they can be hard to find. I found this one at Canton, TX. It is very faded, but I like things that show their age and have stories to tell. 

For me, wagons always evoke memories of childhood. Like this one...

I remember this day... our Granny lined us all up in the wagon so she could take our picture. That's me in the back with my cousins and one of my sisters. (I was getting squashed!)

The wagon makes a great display on the porch and I change it with the seasons. In the fall, I fill it with pumpkins and at Christmas it holds a small cedar tree. Really cute!

In the summer, it's perfect for flowers and can be easily moved around. 

I hope that whoever the little child was that found it under their Christmas tree or wrapped with a great big bow for their birthday has wonderful memories of their wagon. I'm just keeping it safe for them. Just looking at it makes me happy. I wonder if their Granny took pictures too?!

Here's a Heart Rock for your Pocket:
 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Wishing you God's best,
Elaine

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