Charlie

Charlie showed up at our farm last spring.  He adopted us and has been a joy to have.  He supervises all of our work.

Sinking feeling

I want a drainboard sink!  I have wanted one since I was a child.  I don't know why I love them so much, but I have always thought they were lovely and very practical.  Now that we have our farmhouse, I have been looking for one.

I loved this reproduction!

Found at pluming supply: https://www.plumbingsupply.com/farmhouse-drainboard-sinks.html
Only $1928.00 plus shipping.  YIKES!

Here is a vintage one:

Found at: http://vintagebathroom.com/kitchen/#jp-carousel-711
Just $1450!

I am very cheap. I will wait it out to find the best deal and then work on getting it cheaper. I took to craigslist and found a couple of great deals and I was working on getting one guy down to $75 on a sink like the vintage one above. On the same day I was going to go and buy the sink, my husband and I were clearing out around our barn that is partially torn down.  He found this under a bunch of old lumber:

The date on the bottom is 1954.  I was so excited!  It is a little bent and nicked up, but it is in very good condition otherwise and will be my kitchen sink come next spring.  SCORE!

The thistles are blooming!  

Painting

I am not going to post pictures because I don't love what I did.  My kitchen was granny smith apple green when we moved in.  I love lilac and I had a lilac kitchen in my 2 previous homes.  I painted my kitchen a light shade of lilac and I don't like it. I don't even want to hang my things on the wall.  It just doesn't fit this house.  I am going with a good old fashioned white color.  I will buy the paint this weekend and get things hung on the walls and post picts.

Inspiration

Pinterest is a valuable tool in so many ways.  My husband thinks it was created by a woman so other women could look up ideas for things for men to do.

I draw my inspiration from pinterest.  I have a board called: Farm House, Dream House.  I pin little bits of this and that which I would love to incorporate into my house.  I have found pictures of house from the 1910's which is helping me decide how to decorate.  I think my style is a mix of English Farmhouse, Edwardian, Americana, Industrial.  Ok, may just say it is a mix of what I love.  

http://www.pinterest.com/lindismom/farm-house-dream-house/

Porch Makeover - Before and After

Now we are moved in and sort of unpacked. I wanted to dig in and start work on the house. I figured the best place to start was where everyone comes in the house: the porch.  I love the porch.  It is small, lots of windows and great character.   The only drawback of the porch is having the freezer in there.  It was the only place we could put it.

The transformation isn't big.  I calked quite a bit and washed everthing down. Some of the windows are broken and will be replaced. I am not showing a picture of the screen door because that has not been replaced yet.  The walls were given a new coat of white paint and the floor was painted Prussian blue.  It made a big difference. 

Before

After

Style Mystery Solved

This is our beautiful home! This picture was taken back in March.  The land looks stark but this is a really good picture of the house.  

The house was built in 1911, but the style is not typical of those homes built at this time.  This is the era of kit homes, craftsmen style bungalows and foursquare farm homes.  We were not sure why this style of house was built at this time.  Upon researching home styles, I believe it to be Late Victorian Italianate.



Late Victorian Italianate  (from oldhouseweb.com)
Italianate was one of the most popular Victorian-era housing styles from the mid- to late-1800s. Homes in this style ranged from modest two-story town houses to ornate mansions of sea captains and other wealthy entrepreneurs. Inspired by villas of Italy -- or at least pictures of them, since few American architects traveled abroad -- the style is defined most by the use of single or paired decorative brackets under wide cornices.

The homes were typically two to three stories in height, with flat or hip roofs, bay windows with inset wooden panels, corner boards and two over two double-hung windows. The windows often had curved or molded window caps.

Style Details: 

Pictures Italianate Style

Here is why I believe this is the correct style: Before Jeff and Deanna put a new roof on the house, the roof was flat.  There is a wide cornice with brackets. We have a small wood porch on the front of the home.  The living room has a bay window.  Above and below all most main floor windows, there are inset wood panels.  

I also researched home colors of this time:

Part of the house has not been resided with permanent siding and the color is slate gray.  Luckily, Jeff and Deanna kept it that color when the chose the permanent siding.  I am not sure if the house has always been this color as the older pictures I have see of the house are in black and white.  What ever it may have been, the current color is historically correct which I am happy to know.  Our goal is to restore the home and be as historically accurate as possible.