Pleasant View Farm

It’s that time of year again…when I tell a little bit about the renovation of our family home since I always have new followers who don’t know the story. Our Folk Victorian farm house was built in 1895 for my farmer’s great grandparents. No one outside of our family has ever owned the house and we think that’s pretty special! The first time I looked in the windows I fell in love with the old dilapidated house, even though I knew there was a ton of work ahead. We completely renovated it inside and out and did almost all of the work ourselves. It was really rough going at times and took many years to complete this project….almost 20! We first gutted the house including the downstairs floor joists and plaster, added insulation and replaced all the wiring and plumbing and exterior doors and windows. We removed all the original woodwork and interior doors, labeled everything, and I stripped off the white paint, added a new finish and my farmer installed it all back where it had been to start with. This process took a few years. Every board on the exterior as well as the siding has also been replaced to match the original. The 3 missing original gable fretwork pieces were recreated by my farmer from looking at a blown up version of the original photo. These fretworks are much larger and heavier than they appear to be from the ground! He also rebuilt the front porch to the correct original size and later added two other porches. We hired new additions rough framed, drywall work, ductwork, wood and tile floors laid, custom cabinetry and most of the roofing work. My farmer worked full time off the farm as well as farmed our land, so he could only work on the house in his spare time! Not many would be that dedicated and I remain in awe for all that he did to make our dream come true. My full time job since 1990 has always been the house, yard and gardens. I have been so lucky to have been able to do what I love doing. Swipe to see photos…my farmer and I standing in front of the house, my farmer’s ancestors, the house as we found it and work just beginning. Sorry this is so lengthy as I could write a book!