Kitchen

Hello, hello! It’s been almost 2 years since I last updated the progress of our little home! So much has changed and I can’t wait to share! We’re still not finished, but are things ever done when you’re a home-owner? We’ve made great strides towards our goal so I’m going to jump right in! Here’s an overview of what we’ve accomplished in the kitchen!

 

So I left off with demo! I absolutely LOVE the hardwood floors and it was one of the few things we were planning to keep. We began pulling them up to start laying tile in the new bathroom, and we noticed water damage do to a leak in the bathroom.

The more hardwood we removed, the more damage we found.

Some of the floor joists were barely holding together.

So one at a time, joist by joist, my husband replaced every rotten board.

17 floor joists later, and the problem was solved!

Finally closing up the hole! I prayed every night that no unexpected critters would get into the house.

 

After making sure the foundation wouldn’t give out beneath us, we started on the fun part! Decorating & design! I love the industrial farmhouse style. I gathered some of my favorite images and drew inspiration from some of these beauties

http://apartment34.com/?b2w=http://apartment34.blogspot.com/search?q=kitchen

http://witanddelight.tumblr.com/post/11381370487

https://www.popsugar.com/home/HGTV-Property-Brothers-Real-Estate-Tips-34331682

 

So here’s how the kitchen has turned out so far!

I’m still trying to decide on the hanging shelves. We had originally planned to hang exposed shelving on either side of the vent hood, but I’m afraid it will make the space feel small & cramped. What do you think?

This window is one of my favorite things about the kitchen. It looks out over the east side of our property & it’s a beautiful place to watch the sun rise.

Due to some mis-measuring, we’re having to modify the drawers. So until then, it’s a great place to put shopping bags!

I love this door! We purchased it for $10 off Craigslist. After a little paint & hardware, it became the pocket door/chalk board that separates the kitchen from the pantry. I try to write inspirational notes to help keep me focused amidst toddler meltdowns. 🙂

Double ovens. Another kitchen favorite. We’re still working on building a drawer for underneath the ovens.

And in case you missed it, a couple of comparison photos…

 

All of our appliances were bought either during holiday sales or at liquidation stores. Shop around! It’s worth it! Our cabinets were purchased here (cheapest way we found to get high quality, soft closing cabinets), tile from our local Floor & Decor & Kevin made the countertops.

After a lot of hard work and long nights, I love how far we’ve come! We’re still not done, but after living without a kitchen for almost a year, I’m just thankful to have a sink!

–The Britts

 

Phase 1: Demo & Planning

 Ahhhhh… demo. The only time it’s socially acceptable & encouraged to take large heavy objects and obliterate other, more fragile objects. It is the easiest and most satisfying part of construction. As soon as we moved in, we wasted no time and took a sledge hammer to our new little house. We gathered a group of friends and family and attacked our home. There are lots of emotions that accompany buying a new house & then completely destroying it. We started with the kitchen, bathroom and back bedroom. The awkward wall that divided the kitchen from the hallway was the first to go. When you first start tearing down walls, it’s therapeutic. There’s dust and sheetrock flying, the ugly faux wood wall breaking off into pieces and tile shattering. And then, when you step back from conquering your small territory, reality sets in. Imagine a 2,000 lb elephant sitting on your chest. Add the walls closing in on you. Now add that panic feeling you get when unexpected company drops by and you have dishes from the last 3 nights still in your kitchen sink. Yeah, that’s about what it felt like. Then the questions start assaulting you. “You traded in your nice house for this?” “I think we made a mistake” “Can we really handle this? Well, it’s kinda too late now” “I’ll never have a clean house again!” “No stove, oven or sink? How’s this going to work?”

**Cue the brown paper bag scene.**

goodbye awkward wall!

That wall being gone has made the space feel so much bigger! After tearing out the wall, we attacked the bathroom.

bathroom is gone!

The back bedroom & the old closet.

The view from the back bedroom, through the old bathroom, to the kitchen.

Breathe…

Thankfully we have a plan. A real plan that involves real measurements. Plans that aren’t written on a paper napkin. Our light at the end of a dusty, unorganized tunnel. One of our closest friends, who is an insanely talented artist, accompanied us on our final walk through of the house. He measured everything and we worked closely in designing our perfect farmhouse. He brought our dreams to life and that is what’s keeping me from a nervous breakdown.

Walking through the front door, the wall between the living room & dining room is gone to create more of an open concept.

Standing in the dining room looking at the kitchen- the wall between the hallway and kitchen is replaced with cabinets & open shelving. We busted out the old bathroom and made the kitchen much larger.  The door to the left, that once opened up to a covered patio, is now in closed and is a mudroom/laundry room.

The mudroom: I’m really excited about this room. One of our biggest problems with this house was the fact that there was no place for a washing machine or dryer. The previous owners had the washing machine rigged to the hot water heater in the kitchen & the dryer was in the dining room. That wasn’t very functional for us. Thankfully the Lord gave us the idea to in close the back patio. It’s the perfect size for our laundry machines, a sink, and a dog/kid washing station.

We extended the kitchen and then divided the back bedroom. Half of the bedroom is a pantry that is accessible from the pocket door in the kitchen, and the other half is a bathroom at the end of the hall. The two doors on the right are the two remaining bedrooms.

Pantry

Pantry and bathroom

Overview

To the left is the mudroom/ laundry room addition & the carport will eventually be turned into an outdoor dining area.

And that’s our house!  We have a lot of work to do, but it will be a very satisfying reward once complete.

-Leagan

 

original state

To say things on the farm are busy would be the understatement of the year. Do you know what it’s like to eat, sleep and breathe construction!? Seriously. I think I just swallowed saw dust.

We moved in Friday, May 15 and have been working hard ever since. Have you ever moved? This was my first full blown adult move. The entire moving process was a whirlwind that I’m still spinning from. We decided that we wanted to start our farm in January while on vacation. Since I have always wanted to live on a farm (because I’m obsessed with animals), as soon as I got the “ok” from my husband, I immediately went to the internet and found the most charming house on 12 acres. At this point in our lives, we had only been married a year, we had started the adoption process, & we were in the middle of a bathroom remodel. But the house I found was the perfect fixer upper. When I say perfect, I mean it was P E R F E C T. When we returned home, we checked out the 12 acre house, fell in love & out bid a potential buyer. We then QUICKLY finished our bathroom project, put our house on the market & 6 days later sold our first home. 2 weeks later we found ourselves moving into a house that was way smaller, a 35 min drive to work, but oh it has so much untapped potential!

If I were you, I would think we are crazy. Actually, now that I stand back and look at all that has transpired, we just might be insane. But nonetheless, here we are! We jumped & we haven’t looked back, yet! As soon as we moved in, we started demo. Why get your house all setup if you’re just going to destroy it, right? Plus, busting out walls is a great way to relieve some of the frustrations of moving. Let me give you a tour of the house in its original state. After you see it, I’ll think you’ll agree that this place has the potential for greatness!

I love our small country house. I have big plans for the exterior!

When you walk though the front door, you are in the living room. The original hardwood floors are one of my favorite features of the house.

The master bedroom is off the living room.

The master was added about 5 years ago. It’s the largest room in the house and has fantastic windows.

The natural light in this room is wonderful. All of the windows make the space feel so open, bright and clean.

The dining room is off the living room & has a beautiful window that over looks the 12 acre property.

The kitchen is then directly off the dining area. This is the room that needs the most work.

 

Another view of the kitchen and the awkward wall that divides the kitchen and the hallway. Can you guess which wall is the first to go?

the hall bath is directly behind the kitchen

& this room is at the end of the hallway

then there are 2 more bedrooms

our first order of business was to make a temporary (very rough) chicken coop. the space is big enough for the chickens to run around & it also has a roof to keep them dry. the best part about this design is it only took an hour to build 😉

There is lots of work to be done, but I am so excited about the journey ahead!

-leagan

welcome!

If you would have told me 8 yrs ago that I’d be where I am today, I would have thought you were crazy.

Kevin & I met my sophomore year in high school on a church trip. Because he is 7 years older, I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance, but I always had a crush on him. Fast forward to 2013, our paths crossed again but this time we were older and we noticed each other differently. That January we began dating, we were engaged in September 2013 and married in January 2014. During our first year of marriage, we lived in a house Kevin bought before we were together, in a suburb close to Memphis & 5 min from work.

In May 2015 we traded in the convenience of a big town and a close drive to work, and moved to a fixer upper on 12 acres of paradise- miles away from civilization. We love renovating and house projects so we are embarking on our biggest project yet- all while living in the middle of the chaos. I am excited to document this special time in our lives, and the making of our farm. I’d love for you to join us on this exciting new journey.

-leagan