It is such a lovely home just the way it is. I was wondering about my crazy ideas this morning before demo began! But this is our farmhouse and it needs to work for us! Sure, there is a strip of floor and a strip of wall missing now- all which can be covered and repaired in time. The other thing that is missing is the wall!

Our decidedly not-built-by-a-homesteader 1993 home just didn’t have a few things we needed. Like storage for over 500 jars of produce come fall. It also had a weird 3/4 wall, which seemed to be an afterthought, and blocked all the nice light and ambiance of a wide open kitchen/living room/dining room.

When we first moved in six months ago, I decorated in modern Scandinavian-inspired elements and furniture. Oh heck, I even bought electric lamps. You know how it goes when you start over and everything has to be new and different? Yea, well I probably could have saved some money by purchasing second hand because no sooner had Yule hit and the house was becoming our style again. Homey, homesteady, old fashioned, grandma style. Like come in-kick off your shoes- sit by the oil lamp- and read style. It’s good stuff.

We had a modest stipend thanks to a rebate we received and we decided to use that to affordably, mindfully remodel our home in three phases. The first phase happened last week when we put in expansive, gorgeous shelves all across the north wall. Read here.

Today, the wall came down!

The next phase is painting the cupboards. What do you think? Olive green (kind of 1800’s style)? Chalk board paint- that would be lots of fun! (Too much black?)

It is all coming together. This is the best time to do farmhouse remodeling because soon we will have our hands in the soil and the house will be but a place to rest and drag mud through. A home should be a place of respite. It matters not how new it is or how worn. Small elements can create a space of comfort and calm, of peace and memory-making.