Our Remodel Journey – Fixer Upper Farmhouse

Our fixer upper farmhouse journey started nearly three years ago. We had been talking about buying a home with a few acres for a little bit, but we found out that my husband would be deploying so we got serious about our search. We saw the for sale sign and decided to drive down the driveway and take a look. We pulled up and my husband said he just wasn’t sure about it because we could see the amount of work that was going to be needed by looking at the outside. We drove off, and he said we would keep looking. I talked to him, and I got him to agree to look inside the home. He wouldn’t walk past the living room. My parents and I finished looking at the home, and we left. I remember he was umping a softball game, and we had been tossing around an amount between us. He was secretly hoping that the people would not agree, but they did. So we signed the paperwork and got the keys. That’s when it got real. We had just purchased a real home and land. It was a place we would be able to grow old in and pass on to our kids someday. We could raise our family there. We could have a garden and farm animals and do whatever we wanted to because the land was ours. 

But along with the joy came some tears because it also came with the realization of just how much work we were about to do. My husband ended up not deploying, which was a blessing in disguise, and we are still so happy we made this decision. We did as much as we possibly could to move into the home, and now we are just working on it little by little. I am so glad that you are joining us on this journey. If you are thinking about purchasing a fixer upper but are hesitant because of the work, don’t be afraid of a little blood, sweat, and tears. You will build a home with love that way, and you will be so very proud when you are finished.

​Below are some of our before pictures.

The house had been sitting empty for a couple of years before we purchased it. The tub in the bathroom was cast iron, but had to be take out because the majority of the floor in the bathroom was rotten. We had to replace flooring, put in a new shower/tub unit, fix some plumbing, put new plywood up on the walls, paint, replace the vanity, put down new vinyl, and more. We added bead board to the bathroom as well. This was not an easy task. It also happens to be our only bathroom in the house right now.

We tore down paneling out of the two bedrooms, entry way, and hallway. We did not take the paneling off the walls in the living room, but painted over it instead. We had kind of ran out of mojo because that also meant scraping off glue where the paneling had been glued onto the walls and sanding in every room we took it down. We plan to eventually get back to the living room and do the same thing.  We put new vinyl in the kitchen floor. The only thing that my family did not do was the vinyl. We hired someone to come do that. We also restored the hardwood floors on our own. We rented the equipment, and my husband, mom, and dad went to town working on the floors. I was the supervisor. Somebody had to make sure it got done right (haha). Our kids, my brother-in-law, and cousin helped us with several things in the house as well. And because the house had been sitting so long, we had a few issues with the well and had to fix it a couple of times. That was also a big chore. This was definitely a learning experience.

I am excited about some of the upcoming transformations we have planned!!! Below are some of our pictures while working.

We still have so much to do. We are working on finishing trim. Last night we rearranged the living room. I have since painted all the doors in the house white. We are going to turn the back room into the master bedroom and the laundry room into a laundry room and master bathroom at some point. Long term goal would be to gut the kitchen and start over and open up the kitchen into the living room. We would also like to make the current porch part of the house and build a whole new wrap-around porch. I have no idea if or when any of that will happen, but there is nothing wrong with dreaming.