Happy new year! If you guessed that we were talking about Bryarton Farm in our title…You are right! Our little farmhouse just turned 123 years old and we are working hard to bring her back to her former glory.
When we bought the farm we were given the Title Abstract that includes the history of the land’s ownership going back to when it was set aside for settlers by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. From what we can tell the first person to farm the land were husband and wife, Clisha and Ella Ellis in 1878. We hope to take the abstract to the local historical society soon to find out more. The farmhouse has a hand carved cornerstone with a date of 1893. We believe that the Whites, who owned the house in 1878 and whose initials are carved on our barn built in 1900, were the ones who built the house.
Our goals for the year 2016 are to focus on: 1. Getting a kitchen, 2. Repairing & restoring the exterior, and 3. Improving the layout to better fit our family. We have been trying to do things ourselves, but some projects are just too big or are out of our skill set. So we hope to enlisted a few wonderful (and licensed) people from our church, to get our farmhouse back to beautiful.
In an earlier post we touched on the state of the farmhouse and all the neglect it has suffered. We want to learn from the mistakes of past owners and try to deal with problems when we find them while keeping the look of the farm as historically accurate as possible. With our renovation, our goal is to preserve the Folk Victorian details that are left and add them back where they have been lost. As modern day Americans, we also want the house to have a layout and functionality to fit our lifestyle. These need to be added in a classic way that won’t take away from the history of the home.
We try to make all of the major renovations on the farmhouse look as though they could have been part of the house as it originally was. If I want to add something that is more trendy I keep it in the fabrics, paint colors, and other places where it can be changed without another renovation when it goes out of style. For instance, right now I have a very “trendy” hand-painted Moroccan design on the walls of my Master Bedroom and Master Bath. Since I didn’t use expensive wallpaper, I can easily paint over it when it goes out of style.
I get a little frustrated when I hear people talking about renovating their home on a tight budget, when their definition is so far from ours. Being a stay at home mom and wife of a warehouse worker, it feels like no one is really is on our planet. As artists, we have learned make our home look “pretty” with more effort than dollars. Remaking thrift shop and side-of-the-road pieces, hand painting our artwork, and learning carpentry have all helped to give a high end look to our low budget home. Our single biggest obstacle to our farmhouse renovation is our finances. This past year has been a hard lesson in patience, resourcefulness, and perseverance. We are having a lot of fun, but sometimes I get tried of the plaster dust and long for a finished space for our family.
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Oh Sarah, your house is so wonderful and what a history. I am so enjoying following your progress. I had plenty of money when we moved into the house I live in now, but I still prefer to repurpose and renew my furniture, dishes, art, etc. I am going to continue to watch this journey of yours from afar. BTW, my great grandma was born in 1893!
That is so cool Lori! What was your grandmother’s name? 1893 was such a neat time in our nations history, we are so excited to be a part of it! You are such an amazing cheerleader for team Bryarton! XOX
We have a relative with that same name. Sara’s great-grandparents were Anne and Lewis Ellis. Lew Ellis had a brother named Ben, and his wife was Ella. Ella Ellis!
Yes, back in the 1800’s Ella was a very popular name. I think it is neat that not only is farmhouse style from that time period coming back into vogue, but so are names! Very Cool!
I look forward to following your journey restoring this charming farmhouse! I design interiors for a living and my husband and I have just recently purchased a historic property on 7acres in the countryside of Ontario Canada. Restoring and renovating the stone house built in 1878 is a labour of love filled with challenges we had only imagined ( good and bad) but the process is wonderful and life changing. I realize from the outside looking in our project might feel like a different world from yours ( I hear your frustration in your words relating to budget ) but, I can say that when we first started out as a married couple we lived in the rented upstairs rooms of a drafty old farmhouse. That first winter all my clothes froze to the walls of the closet. We struggled with the desire to create a beautiful space within a minuscule budget. Year after year as our skills improved and our business grew we were able to move, build and renovate several homes that brought us to this one. I have no doubt you will make this home a wonderful space filled with art and beauty!! I hope you pop over and visit us!!
Wow Cynthia, your comment was very encouraging to us! It is true we do feel frustrated, cold, and a bit alone in this journey. Thank you for putting things in perspective and sharing your story with us! We are glad that you will be along for the ride and are looking forward to any tips, inspiring ideas and encouragement that your experience can offer. We will definitely check out your blog too!
I just came across your blog, thanks to a link on theletteredcottage blog. Love seeing your restoration! I am a farm girl originally from Iowa and love old houses and old farmhouses in particular! And you are not alone in your renovation on a REAL budget! I am a SAHM and we live on my hubby’s income. We are renovating an old (1918 we think) mine house moved to our area after a local mine town shut down way back in the teens or early 20’s. We have been living in a state of remodeling mess of varying degrees for 11.5 years now! One room at a time with very little money going out at a time. We have only hired three things done, we have traded meals and work for a few other things, and we have worked, worked, worked on the rest ourselves. We salvage everything we can get our hands on and we have taken a 1980’s renovation disaster to an old charm and very workable house for us. Enlarging doors, removing walls, adding built ins…no additions, top of the lne appliances (unless they are used!), whole house renovations done in 6 months, etc for us! Keep working “heartily as unto the Lord!”
I just love your story and I know you are a kindred spirit! What a fortunate home to be so loved by you. Thank you for sharing a bit of your journey with us. What an encouragement to continue on with our farmhouse restoration! Your comment has truly made our day!
Your heart must have skipped a beat when you saw your creative cornerstone. I’ve never seen one as artsy as yours before. How fun for two artists to be the one to be restoring it back to to glory. I love the improvements that you have done. We’ve been working on our 100 plus beauty for over 20 years, and just got the kitchen done a few years ago. It is challenging to live in the middle of a major project, but I know you realize it is so worth it!
Your children are super cute and I love your photography and art projects. I look forward to following your blog and being inspired by your creativity. May the Lord continue to bless you beyond measure!
That is true, Joanne. Our farmhouse does has a beautifully carved cornerstone, I guess there have been artists living here forever! When you said that you just finished your kitchen after 20 years of fixing up your historic home, it wasn’t exactly encouraging. After over two years of cooking on a hot plate and with a microwave in our dining room I don’t think I can wait that long. I mostly miss having a dishwasher! Washing dishes in the bathtub upstairs is “interesting”. So glad you found our little blog, though! Having a new friend who loves Jesus, appreciates art, and cares about historic home restoration is like finding our long lost sister! Thanks for your comment!
I certainly didn’t mean to discourage you. I am so impressed with what you have accomplished in a short time! I love your master bedroom and bathroom makeovers. They are magazine worthy for sure! I love that you exposed the fireplace and that you have gone the extra steps to redo the walls.
Our kitchen was remodeled by previous owners in the late 70’s so didn’t need anything desperately until just a few years ago when the linoleum had major holes in it. I have a friend who is restoring an old barn into their home who washed dishes in a claw foot tub, however, her tub is right next to the kitchen. I can’t even imagine what it would be like carting dishes up and down the stairs, and cooking as you have. I’d be making the kitchen a priority for sure! Our kitchen remodel has an interesting story that I want to write a series of posts about. I will keep you in the loop on how the Lord worked it out so that we could have a new kitchen.
Can’t wait to read the next chapter of what “little sister” is up to. The Lord is doing amazing things through you!