old country house blog

TOP TEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE

BEING OFF THE MARKET HAS BEEN NICE.

Sometimes, when I am cozy on the sofa, under the big mirror, looking out across the expanse of room and the light is coming just right…I even think “Maybe we should stay”. But then I wake up from that dream and remember the 3 S’s…which are SIMPLIFY and STREAMLINE and SELL! and I am slapped back into reality.

The fact of the matter is this – I will cry fat hot tears when we leave this house…no ifs ands or buts about it. I raised my family here and this home contains memories of everything precious to me. But in 3 days…two of my 3 children will return to college and their new exciting lives…and the house will once again begin to feel like just too much for us…and at that moment I will start making my lists of all the little touch ups and things I need to do before it goes back on the market.

AND I MADE A LIST OF MY TOP TEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY HOUSE

10. THE KITCHEN

MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE KITCHEN
MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE KITCHEN
PAINTED VINYL KITCHEN FLOOR
PAINTED VINYL KITCHEN FLOOR

I poured my heart and soul into this kitchen. The  term “Budget” is a relative term…but for US …this upgrade took 3 years…we spaced out the expenses…and we did most of the work ourselves.  Every single inch of this room has been touched by my hand or my paintbrush. No, it is not the absolute BEST kitchen in the whole wide world…but for this house…it works perfectly . You can read about the makeover process . This post HERE outlines the entire makeover and provides links to each step.

9. FRONT PORCH SWING

BIRDS EGG BLUE CEILING DARK GRAY FLOOR
BIRDS EGG BLUE CEILING DARK GRAY FLOOR

We received this porch swing as a Housewarming gift when we first moved in. It has logged many hours of daydreams. I have not decided if we will leave it for the new owners…it seems to belong to the house…but I will miss the soft creak and sleepy rides.

8.MY DINING ROOM / STUDIO

DINING ROOM / STUDIO
DINING ROOM / STUDIO
DINING ROOM- and the IRON CANDLESTICKS
DINING ROOM- and the IRON CANDLESTICKS

This room has undergone probably the MOST changes. For the first 5? years it was a family room – it is off the kitchen which enabled me to keep an eye on kids etc while doing kitchen duties. Then , when the kids hit teenage years and wanted a bit more space and privacy we moved the DINING room HERE and “old dining room” became a second living room.

I have spent literally hundreds of hours in here…catching the light and painting. I look forward to having a STUDIO which is only a Studio…but I have loved the energy of this room.

7. POWDER ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS

POWDER ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS
POWDER ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS

Brian is a caretaker on the adjoining property and is the nephew of the family that owned this house for over 100 years. He has told us countless stories about our house. He told us that this bathroom used to be a coat closet but in the 80’s or 90’s  –  when the 2 occupants of the house reached 80 and 100 years of age –  it was hard to go up and down the stairs and so this bathroom was created. It had previously been under the stairs on the back porch…where the workers could also use it when it was a working farm.

Another room makeover done top to bottom (no pun intended) by me. I stripped this little room down to the floorboards and did everything except install the sink myself. As the only bathroom on the first floor this room wins “MOST USED” room for sure!

….if would like to go back and read the “making of” POSTS go HEREHERE and HERE and  HERE,

6.THE WINDOWS

LIVING ROOM SOFA IS A
LIVING ROOM WINDOW. ALL OF THE WINDOWS IN THE HOUSE ARE HUGE. THEY STILL HAVE THE OLD LEADED GLASS WHICH SHIMMERS IN THE LIGHT. THEY ARE A THING OF BEAUTY IN MY OPINION .
JACKIE O AND THE WINDOWS!
JACKIE O AND THE WINDOWS!

They don’t build them like they used to. And never is that more TRUE than when you compare old house windows to new house windows. Sure, the new ones are lighter, more energy-efficient, and easier to clean . But are they beautiful? Not so much…no,  windows in old houses ARE beautiful. They tell the story of every cool breeze and sunrise. Their wavy glass is a sight to behold.

I will miss the windows.

5. MASTER VANITY

MASTER VANITY - DRESSER TURNED INTO VANITY
MASTER VANITY – DRESSER TURNED INTO VANITY
MASTER BATHROOM
MASTER BATHROOM VANITY

Sometimes, in life and makeovers, the stars align and everything falls into place ….perfectly.

I knew when I did the upgrade / makeover of the master bathroom that I wanted to transform a dresser into a vanity. Our house is 140 years old and I felt that anything more modern would just not be as fitting. But as the time drew near, I still had not found a suitable dresser to transform. I took one more trip to my favorite vintage / used furniture store called CIRCA and was JUST about to leave when I stumbled upon not only the PERFECT dresser..but a dresser that had previously been turned into a vanity!!!

VANITY BEFORE
VANITY BEFORE

It was too good to be true. It actually even came with a sink and faucet which I swapped out. DESTINY. Here is the makeover POST

4. THE MIRROR

THE MIRROR
THE MIRROR

My old country house

Winter 2003. We have decided to move to the country, closer to the kid’s school. Our house has sold and we are looking for a rental. We ARE planning to move to a farmhouse on Brian’s property (remember the caretaker whose relatives lived in our house ) when a business associate of my husband’s tells him hat he has just purchased a large piece of property which contains  two old homes. He plans to live in one of the homes but the 2nd house is incidental and would we like to rent it? We decide to take a look and on a cold snowy day we drive out to the property called “Fairview”. The old front porch is carpeted…and I wonder “who lived here?” and I think I might be visiting Grey Gardens???

But we walk into the house …and all I see is POTENTIAL

Tall ceilings, huge rooms and then I see it…the MIRROR.

THE LIVING ROOM #1 - BEFORE
THE LIVING ROOM #1 – BEFORE the first day we met.

It was love at first sight.

3.PHOEBE’S ROOM

PHOEBE'S BEDROOM
PHOEBE’S BEDROOM makeover 2015
PHOEBE'S "OLD" ROOM - Photo taken by John Petersik of Young House Love for our HOUSE CRASH
2012 – 2015 PHOEBE’S “OLD” ROOM – Photo taken by John Petersik of Young House Love for our HOUSE CRASH

Phoebe’s bedroom gets the best light in the house – ALL DAY. Originally it was supposed to be the boy’s room. It is about 1 foot longer and wider than the boy’s room, but the painter got the rooms mixed up and he painted the boy’s room pink and hers blue…so Phoebe got the slightly bigger sunny room. Her room has undergone multiple makeovers . little girl, horsey girl, tween girl, teen girl and finally Young lady room.

Here are links to all of Phoebe’s rooms! 2015, 2011, tween, pink

2. THE VIEW

The view from my yard
The view from my yard

I take this for granted I know. And the drive TO our house is one of the most spectacular views in the area and at least once a week I will pass someone taking photos…it is THAT GREAT!

THE COUSINS TAKEN AT MIRADOR..
2010? HE COUSINS TAKEN AT MIRADOR..ONCE UPON A TIME!

1. LIVING ROOM ONE AND TWO

THIS ROOM AND THIS DRESSER HAVE UNDERGONE MULTIPLE MAKEOVERS...COLOR CHANGES...
THIS ROOM AND THIS DRESSER HAVE UNDERGONE MULTIPLE MAKEOVERS…COLOR CHANGES…
LIVING ROOM PAINTED STEAMED MILK
LIVING ROOM PAINTED STEAMED MILK
MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE LIVING ROOM
MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE LIVING ROOM

I spend most of my relaxing time, Netflix time, blog writing time, visiting and chilling time in the Living room (s). They clean up nice for photos, and have been photographed in each version but usually there are coffee cups and diet coke cans and chips and blankets and laptops and dogs everywhere!! These rooms are LIVED IN squared!!!!

They have been many colors…and my style has evolved but I think ti si safe to say that this is the HEART of our home….

***************************************************

SO THERE IS MY TOP 10 LIST….AND HERE IS THE BEST NEWS – THESE GUYS WILL BE A PART OF WHERE EVER WE GO!!!

FAMILY photos by Sarah Cramer Sheilds
FAMILY photos by Sarah Cramer Sheilds

HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!

1 thought on “TOP TEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE

  1. Loved this recap! I’ve been following you long enough now that I remember all the changes you’ve blogged about – it was a great look back! Enjoy this lull until you – and another family – find the next perfect home.

Comments are closed.