New Years on our Farm

We started our New Year’s Eve on the road to our farm. On the way there Chad and I got to discuss plans and dreams about the farm. We usually set a goal of what we want to accomplish while we are there and this time was no exception. Let’s just say there is no relaxation on our vacations to the farm. But we would rather be working at the farm then sitting on the couch watching tv.

My goal was to put in electrical into the butlers pantry, and master bedroom and put in the closet in the master bedroom. But since my mom was having surgery to get her knee replaced while we were there, we had to rethink it.

So we decided that we should finish the Butler’s pantry. Now when we make plans it usually gets expanded on because we try to get as much as we can while we are there since we only get to go a couple times a year.

When we finally got there we unloaded the vehicle, chit chatted, celebrated Christmas and off to bed we all went!

We began by removing everything from the Butler’s pantry. The room was pretty packed with food, dishes, and kitchen gadgets and it all got piled up in the mud room/laundry room. We took the cabinets down off the wall and took the shelves apart. Sounds like a quick job right? No, the Amish use nails for everything! So prying nails out is quite the chore. But we did find an amazing surprise that we weren’t anticipating.

The shelves you see us taking apart had some old funky shelf liner on them but come to find out they are beautiful 16” wide boards !! that we ended up being able to use for countertops in the pantry! I was so excited about this find, not only for the financial savings, but also because I love how beautiful the wood was. The kids were not as excited to carry the long boards to the basement but they survived. I did slack at taking pictures on this trip, sorry I will try to be better next time.

Once the room was completely cleared we cut a section out of the drywall all around the room then in the hall way we cut up a section in the floor so we could run electrical wire to the room. Afterwards we drilled a hole down towards the basement because this section of the house is on a concrete slab. Fun was not really a word to describe this process but I am glad we got it done. Afterwards Chad got to use his new toy DEWALT 20V MAX* Stapler Kit for Cables (DCN701D1).

Weekend https://a.co/d/1f5dmmz

This tool made it so much easier when running the cables along the ceiling in the basement and the fact that Chad is extremely tall makes it even quicker!

Then we got started on running the wires in the Butler’s panty. Maneuvering the wire around the corners is a nightmare and I am pretty sure I am the slowest electrician and no one would hire me but I am still proud that I could do it. Thankfully Chad and my dad were there to help!

But shortly after they deemed me a professional and sent me to work on the electrical in the hall, the master bedroom, and then the bathroom. Rude right? I will say that the ceiling lights kicked my butt and my arms felt like jello during and afterwards. I finally had to ask Chad for help because I couldn’t get the screws through the insulation on the light and into the holes to hold up the light, (if that even makes sense at all).

Chad fixed all the drywall in the pantry, put up some thin plywood on the bottom of the walls and then him and Hunter started ship lapping the ceiling and walls in there.

While they did that, I went to cut the walls out in the master bedroom. In the master bedroom not only was there drywall but also particle board behind that to cut through. Then I cut some hideous trails for the wire to go around and above the window because there is cinderblocks under the windows. When we put the walk in closet in the master bedroom we will add more electrical plugs and ceiling light into that room.

It was getting late and my parents were ready for bed so we cleaned up their room and I went to join Chad and Hunter with the shiplap. Hunter trailed off to bed soon after and Chad and I finished the shiplap.

A lot of the time spent this trip was on the boring labor intensive parts (ie: electrical work) but we did get to make some of my dreams come true.

Chad found an ad on Facebook for vintage antique farmhouse doors !!!!

Now mind you, I had no clue how much doors 🚪 cost until Chad showed me a few at Lowe’s. I could not believe they were all over $500 😳. Also the new ones aren’t really what I envisioned for my farm. They don’t have the farmhouse character and charm of doors hand built over 100 years ago.

So I am thrilled that we found 5 vintage doors. While we were at the guys house he also showed us (2) vintage cupboard cabinets that I fell in love with !!

At this point I have no clue or real vision of where these two cabinets will go, but for $75 there was absolutely no way they were not going home with me 😜

Ooops I squirreled there and got side tracked. Hahaha. Back to the Butler’s pantry. As most of y’all probably know I have a teeny tiny itsy bitsy hobby. I enjoy cooking and baking and along with this hobby comes an addiction/ obsession with kitchen gadgets!! So I wanted a big counter space area with a ton of plugs in the pantry to be able to plug in and store those gizmos. I talked Dad and Chad into devoting 2 separate breakers just for the pantry so I won’t have to worry about popping fuses. I ended up with 9 or 10 electrical outlets!! (Don’t judge)

In Lubbock we had found a vintage stained glass light fixture that goes great in the pantry so we wired it in !

So in order to make the farm look the way I want is sorta tough at times. I literally have spent days, months, years even watching DIY shows, Pinterest, tiktok, Facebook and any other sources that I can find to come up with ideas 💡 for my Dream Home. Once I get those ideas then I have to translate those ideas to Chad and my Dad and myself to make them work in reality.

One of our favorite things about the farm is doing the work ourselves. It amazes me how much we have done in our home. I remember the 1st time I came across the farm on realtor.com I thought there was absolutely no way Chad would have any interest in an Amish Farm in the middle of Kentucky that would need a ton of blood, sweat and tears to modernize and yet keep the vintage vibe to it. When Chad showed me the ad I was OMG 😱 I can’t believe this, I had already fallen in love with the farm before I ever stepped foot on the property.

One thing that is a challenge is “flow and individuality” when it comes to the design aspects. We want to be able to go room to room and they all flow and seem cohesive and yet be individually designed.

So for instance we both love shiplap, but if every inch of the house was in shiplap painted plain ole white, it would be boring. So we (mostly me, lol) have had to step out of my comfort zone and be able to do colors and designs that I never have before!!

I would never imagined I would have a black wall painted in my house

Also several other colors like grey stairwell. But I have stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to venture out into different colors. So for the Butler’s pantry I chose blue.

I am loving all the different colors, but at the same time the “flow” of shiplap. Chad also did a great job on the flooring!

The door we bought turned out amazing!!

We also had the opportunity to do some work in the bathroom. Chad talked me into not shiplap the bathroom and go with Board and Batten instead. We finally we able to finish the vanity sink. My Dad did an amazing job of custom building the bottom and getting all the plumbing hooked up!

So in the picture you can see a chandelier, well we only have 8 foot ceilings and since Chad is almost that tall lol, it makes lighting a challenge. My Dad and Chad were able to take the chandelier apart and take out some sorta doohickey and make it short enough so he don’t wack his head on it.

While at Walmart we found the light fixture above the mirror that matches on clearance.

So we now have a light in the pantry. Two lights in the hallway. And two light fixtures in the bathroom. My dad also added a light outside the basement door but I forgot to take a picture of it.

Boy we sure did do a ton of work on that short amount of time. But as Chad likes to say. “ he would rather swing a hammer on the farm, then a pen at his desk”