Before and After Fireplace

Before Fireplace

Living area fireplace before.  I loved the original grills on the fireplace and the concept of keeping the fireplace.  However, the fireplace was rusted out through the flue.  Therefore, we covered the original fireplace and added an electric insert.

 After Fireplace

Our new electric fireplace.  We removed one of the original grills.  I cleaned it with oven cleaner and incorporated it into the new design.  The marble herringbone pattern and light and bright mantel gives the fireplace a much needed update.  We kept the original rustic hearth for character.

Original grill.  We cleaned it and incorporated it into the new design. Marble herringbone tile.

With a push of a button, we have a fire for ambience or the look of a fire with electric heat.

Before and After Kitchen

Before

 Almost There

After

Pendant lighting, original pine wood floors, custom cabinets

Black honed granite, gas range

Large farmhouse sink in the soft aqua island, marble countertop

Beadboard ceiling adds an old fashion feel, recessed lighting

Chris Godsey with Godsey Custom Homes was amazing to work with and completely understood our vision of how we wanted to the house to be transformed while maintaining the original charm.

Remodel Continues

The porch had to be removed.  It was not supported correctly, and it was very low.

We stripped everything down to the studs and the original wood floors.  It was time for walls to come down and ceilings to be raised.  New plumbing, electrical, insulation, and roofing were added.

We added 600-700 square feet of Master bedroom, bath, and closet.

After the walls came down and ceilings were raised, the space looks and feels much larger.

The Demo Begins

Once we were settled into our RV humble abode, it was time to get started with the demolition. This process took about 4 weeks.  This was one area that we could save money by doing most of the demo ourselves.  Our 1940's house had layers of history.  Behind the dark paneling in the living area we quickly found another layer of wood lined walls.  The really neat thing about that was that the walls were lined with broken down WWII ammunition boxes.  Almost all of the floors were several layers thick, and the bathroom walls had 5 layers on them.  It felt like the layers would never end.

dark wood paneling living area

Kitchen with a 70's look

A great space to create our new kitchen

The bathtub was actually falling through the floor

One of the existing bedrooms.  Not sure why there was a
ceiling fan and a wagon wheel light.

Another bedroom with thin faux paneling

The first few boards are removed!

Underneath the paneling were WWII ammunition boxes.
They are all dated.  It was a really neat find!

Our Little Farmhouse

Our 1200 square feet farmhouse

Finding the right house to call home can be difficult.  My husband likes outdoor space and wildlife. I like to be close to town and a house with charm.  Finding this combination and staying on budget is challenging!

How did we made this work?  We purchased a small house that needed tons of work on 30 acres.

Our adventure has been worth it!




The house was not livable when we purchased it. Therefore, we had to figure out where to live while we remodeled.  Short term rentals (6 months or less) are not readily available in our area.  We thought we found a place only to find out several other people wanted it as well, and two other people had already submitted their applications.  We didn't have a chance.

We went to plan "B".  Plan "B" was purchasing a RV and living in it.  That is exactly what we did. My husband, our two pre-teen children, an indoor cat, and I all lived in a 29' RV for 4 months while we completed this project.

The adventure started at that moment.

Our home for 4 months

I am going to share before, during, and after pictures of this process over the next few posts.