The Story of our House (Part 1)

It is raining here today, so I will not be working in my garden...the corn, potatoes, squash and brussel sprouts still need to be planted, but they will have to wait another couple of days.  I decided to take some time and share with you the story of our home.  It's not just a house; it's a project that Hubby and I have been lovingly working on for the past fourteen years. When we first drew up the plans for our home, we never imagined that we would fill it with ten children.  At the time, we only had one toddler with a baby on the way.  We are now bursting at the seams and are in the process of building on an addition.  We are getting very close to having the new addition complete and I can't wait to share it with you, but first I wanted to tell you how Front Forty Farm came to be.

I have always loved old houses. Growing up I lived across from my grandparents, whose home was over 150 years old and had been built and past  down by our ancestors.  Grandpa farmed on the family homestead that his relatives had built, and he always took care to preserve the past and its history.  I loved my grandparents and cherished the time I spent in their wonderful home.  An appreciation for old houses was cultivated in me at a young age.

I grew to love the creaky floors; the musty root cellar; the tiny, wall-papered bedrooms tucked under the eaves; the nooks and crannies; the windows that were never clear because of the wavy glass; the narrow staircase winding down to the family sitting room; the pantry lined neatly with mason jars full of canned produce; the horse-hair plastered walls, held together by layers of wallpaper, each layer telling a story of those that came before us. 

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to live in a house like my grandparents...I wanted to be surrounded by nostalgia.  I was hoping to someday acquire an old home and restore it to its original glory.

When Hubby and I were first married, my parents deeded a piece of property to us.  We were very excited to have been given this wonderful piece of property, but the land did not include my dream farmhouse.  We would have to build our own. We had a piece of land, no house, and barely two pennies to rub together.  Hubby and I spent hours discussing what type of home would fit our needs and our budget, keeping in mind my wish for an old farmhouse.

Our piece of land, once called the Front Forty, used to be farmland, but over time the pastures became woodland again.  Hubby cleared the trees off the spot where the new house would go, and, in an attempt to save money, we milled the trees into boards that would be used in the building of our new home.

Hubby, with only the help of his father, built the house and barn.  He sheathed the walls with rough boards like my great-grandfather would have done, rather than paying the high price for modern day ply-wood.  Our floors were constructed from wide-pine boards milled from old-growth trees that were cut from my father's land.
We purchased interior doors, for $10 apiece, that had been removed from a house used for Union Officers' quarters during the civil war. We bought French doors, complete with antique glass knobs, from an old sea-captains home.  They were $100 for the pair. Our exterior doors once graced the entrances of other old homes...we paid $25 for one, and the other broke the bank costing us a whopping $75.  Most of our windows are used, purchased very inexpensively from a homeowner who was replacing his windows with a newer style. 

We installed claw foot tubs and pedestal sinks that we purchased for pennies.  My kitchen has an enameled cast iron, double basin, farmhouse sink. I had been in desperate search of a sink of that description, but we couldn't find any that were within our budget, until one day I was driving through town and spotted a yard sale.  I slowed down and noticed two men carrying a sink down the front steps.  As they set it down on the lawn, I realized it was the EXACT sink I had been looking for.  I was so excited that I was shaking.  I literally ran to them...not wanting anyone else to get to the sink before I did.  When I asked how much they wanted for it, I almost passed out.

Ten dollars!!!!!  Ten dollars is all they wanted for this beautiful, antique sink!  I couldn't believe what I had heard. I quickly rummaged through my purse, gave them a ten dollar bill, and drove home.  I begged Hubby to go pick it up with his truck immediately...I didn't want any changed minds.  I finally had found my farmhouse sink and for a mere ten dollars!

With our attempts to save money and my love for the old, our house began taking on the look of a century old colonial.  In fact, one day an appliance repair man came to fix our dishwasher, and he had to go to the basement.  As I lead him down the stairs, he said, "Wait, I thought this was an old house...but you have a modern basement.  I was expecting an old dirt, root cellar.  How old is this house?"  I giggled to myself...we had tricked him.  We actually succeeded in making our modern house look like it was built a hundred years ago. 

Although we are the first family to live in our house, I'm hoping our home is around for centuries to come, lovingly revealing the stories of the families that once called it home.

Thank you for coming to visit my corner of New England.  It's not grand or lavish, but it's home, my home...my "old" New England farmhouse. I look forward to sharing with you more of The Story of Our House.

(In the mean time, you can check out t, he progress on the addition through my Instagram link on my side bar.)

Linked with Cheerios and Lattes, Natasha in Oz, Nifty Thrifty Things, That DIY Party, Sew-licious, Lil Luna, Clean and Scentsible,  The 36th Avenue, Creations by Kara, Adorned From Above, Lady Behind the Curtain, Sugar and Dots, I Love My Disorganized Life, Rae Gun Ramblings, Daisy Cottage Designs, The DIY Dreamer, The Real Housewives of Riverton, Pieced Pastimes, 4 You With Love, Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, Becoming Martha, Shaken Together, Design, Dining and Diapers, Chic on a Shoestring, Alderberry Hill, The Dedicated House, Coastal Charm, Our Home Away from Home, New Nostalgia, House on the Way, The Blackberry Vine, French Country Cottage, The Farmhouse Porck