Well, I know it’s been a confusing six months with regards to where the heck I have been living, where the heck Robert has been living and where the heck we have been living together whenever we are lucky enough to be together.
To keep it simple for you, we’re currently living in the strawbale house, because the farm house is mostly looking like this:
True to Jillian and Robert style, we’re doing a reality TV home improvement style house renovation. TAKE IT DOWN TO THE STUDS!!! That’s seems like our life motto. Yay for us.
The farm house is a really cool ranch style 70’s home and while there’s a lot of great stuff about it, it did need some work (buying turn-key homes is apparently not our talent). Rob and I agreed that we did not want to have to live in a demolition site so we have kept the strawbale house rental while working on the farm house. There’s a commute. We don’t care (but sometimes I care).
What was going to be a complex kitchen renovation turned into a terribly big complex kitchen renovation when we discovered that the attic space above the kitchen was a rat, mouse and pigeon labyrinth at one point in time. Former owners must have had an exterminator deal with the issue because under all that insulation above the kitchen was a literal catacomb of dead creatures, crap and various critter nests. The vision of mummified rats the size of Penelope will forever be seared in my memory. It was heinous.
Ok, so we had to hire a company to come and vacuum out that revolting mess. It took them a week. I felt so badly for them! The attic contents were horrifying. Robert was so traumatized that he tore out panels of dry wall in the other side of the house to make sure there wasn’t a rat catacomb above the bedrooms, too — there wasn’t (by the way, the bedrooms are also quasi-demolitioned at the moment). Suffice to say, the kitchen demolition part of this renovation has been exhausting and extensive but the project is now moving forward. This is an example of how sometimes it has to get real bad before it starts to get better.
Rob’s dad was here for a full week to help out with installing the new main support beam in the kitchen which you can clearly see in the next image. It looks gorgeous! Beyond the beam, you can see into our enormous living room with it’s cozy fireplace, kooky windows, vaulted ceiling and exposed cross-ties.
I can’t wait for the day we finally get to move into this place but until then, I am continuing to cherish living right on the river, above the rapids, in the strawbale house which has been such a beautiful place to live and I am sure I will look back so fondly at this time in our life.
Viva la home renovation revolution! Hopefully you’ll be amazed (me too) next time I show you images of progress!
Lastly, did you find Tater Tot and I in your mailbox last week?
i adore watching “mindless” [that’s what i call them, because i don’t have to think too much about them, just enjoy viewing them] home renovation shows on cable TV.
and, no, no you-n-tater, yet….so i DO look forward to the upcoming catalogue wherein tater is featured as a model!!
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Tater’s such a star.
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Your house looks so cool! It always has to look awful before it looks great, and once it’s done-BOOYAH!! What catalog are you in?
It’s a really cool place…bigger than I would like but still a great spot…lots of character.
That’s a Filson catalogue.
My husband and I found ourselves in a similar house renovation this summer. At times I thought, “What the heck were we thinking?” Life guides us to new challenges, and within those are opportunities. Here is to sawdust, mess, and the joy it will ultimately bring.
Good luck with all the renos…it is a lot of work but so worth it when it is done (or what we think “done” means). The rings above are stunning, little landscapes, beautiful. Thank you for your house update, so looking forward to follow the improvement.
You really do need a little luck with renovation…they get out of hand so quickly. The rat and mouse catacombs were our only surprise so far. 🙂
Ok- new to the game. What catalog?
That’s Filson.
I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job with your home. Enjoy every stage…thanks for the looksies…
It’s difficult to not let ourselves get impatient!!! By the time we finally move in we’ll have owned this place for over six months!
We’re starting our search for property over here, and I feel like this is a peek into our future! Congratulations on the new house, and I can’t wait to see what the finished product looks like!
I cannot wait to see what you guys wind up with, Beth!!!
I thought that was you! Nice progress on the farm house! It has a great frame to start with! Good luck! I’m in a similar situation with the remodel of our ’75 Airstream. Down to the frame to remove the mouse hotel in the insulation and start over with new materials. Enjoy the season you’re in. 🙂
I agree. Good bones.
Also, been there done that with the Airstream. 🙂 Good luck to YOU!
Thanks for sharing the house pics. This sort of thing tickles my fancy! Even though I swear I am not building or renovating another house!! My husband and I share the affliction of never living in a turn key house. We once lived in a very old and neglected farm house whilst we were building another only yards away. This house had holes in the floor large enough for possums to creep through. Dave once returned to the bedroom on a frigid morning (we had no heat in the house)…I could see his breath as he told me to come quick…he needed me in the kitchen. There I discovered what he had found draped for warmth over the back of our propane stove…..a large snake. Various indoor animal encounters were fairly routine. Then there was the house we moved into with a 1400 square foot garage. The previous owners would qualify as hoarders…the entire space was absolutely crammed with stuff….almost all of building debris such as 9″ pieces of leftover lumber, tiny swatches of insulation, odd shaped bits of drywall. Apparently they could throw nothing out. Oh I could go on. I am positive that your new space will be filled with your combined talents and love. Look forward to seeing the end product.
Alright…the snake on the stove beats my rat catacombs though I did have a snake in the strawbale house this summer!!! Such terrors we have survived!
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Oh Jillian, I love seeing yours and Rob’s remakes of homes! It’s so homey and so entirely yours. <3 And you and Tater look glorious! I love seeing you in these catalogs. Such an unlikely model you make (and in the best way possible!) 🙂
That’s the joy of a re-model! We get to make it exactly perfect for ourselves.
And I know! I am an unlikely model. When I think about it, I tend to laugh aloud. Everything about me is so scruffy and imperfect…