c.1863 Farmhouse

Welcome to our c.1863 RUSTIC FARMHOUSE restoration project!


Given that fact this farmhouse is roughly 153 years old, this is going to be quite the adventure! Over the next several years we will be breathing new life into this old girl. Bringing the original wood windows back to life one window at a time and trying to maintain as much original plaster as possible. Using lime mortar for brickwork repairs. To the best of our ability we plan to keep the house as we have found it while adding our own personal touch and upgrades. There has already been talk of another photo shoot & magazine feature in the future! I'll keep you posted!
~mel
 

 

#c1863farmhouserestoration #project #oldhomelove #fixerupper #rusticfarmhouse #farmhouse #gothiccottage #gothicfarmhouse

#ontariohouse #countryliving #adventure #journey #restoration #renovate #remodel #antique #diy #laboroflove #construction




Believe me, I do have a heart! It pained me to tear off the layers of wallpaper-all that history. But it had to be done. No matter the condition I still find beauty.












I CANNOT wait to change this sink!



We know a sweet spot where we can get FREE wood chips so ahem HELLO! of course we will use that to our advantage!
The amount of work that must go into this place is phenomenal that's all I can say.
Little helpers!
Even though this wall (carriage house) has to have work done I still had to plant some hydrangeas to get them started! Looking good girls! Looking good!





Planning for repairs and to update this porch.
Sometimes it's not easy to 'date' a pre 1900's home. Records are lost or not kept at all. I have had some help from our local museum to date this brick beauty but they are still looking for more information. According to the 1861 census there was a frame home located on this particular property but the owner is unknown, then according to the historic atlas this property & brick home was owned by David 'Sharp' in 1877. What happened between 1861-1877 is in question. We had suspected that the brick might have been built 'around' the frame home but the Curator from Dundurn Historic Site said that he thought there would be more evidence of it, but yet walls and chimneys are not exactly where he figured they should be.  It's been said that given the design and brickwork of the home it would have cost quite a bit of money at that time so David Sharp was a wealthy man.  One thing for sure is that if someone says "That's a 'sharp' house!", they are sure right! The location is great! Country living but 5 minutes central to 3 different towns and Lake Erie Cottage country! The property is so beautiful. Once spring begins all the trees and bushes start filling out. Of course we have removed some things and added others and will continue to work on that. We are keeping everything really simple. My mind is racing with ideas for a garden, raspberry bushes and lavender patch. And of course I'd love another cute little chicken coop! ~Mel
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE!!!!! One day the hubs was gone to work so I was FORCED into the basement to do a job myself! (I try to avoid it because of all the 5 foot long creepy hairy spiders and who knows what other human eating creatures live down there!) As my flashlight skimmed the wall in the corner I found 1863 written in the lime plaster of the stone foundation!! YIPPEEE! some hope in piecing this all together! The style of the home is gothic cottage/gothic farmhouse. My husband and I took a WOOD WINDOWS course which was AMAZING! We will be able to repair all the original windows and upgrade their efficiency! You can check into that HERE.  I can tell you that while at this course, we got some GREAT advice from a VERY wise man Dr. Chris Cooper who teaches the courses. He also suspected that the brick home was built around the original framed home. Finding the date of 1863 along the one wall will help us figure some things out for sure! I can't wait to show that to our local museum!

2 comments:

  1. Love, love, love your Victorian Lady. :-) Mine is 10 years older than yours but not as lovely as yours with those gingerbread carvings and tall windows! And oh how I would love to have that original banister and staircase. Mine is long gone unfortunately.

    Wish we were neighbors, I'd have you over for tea and scones. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahh could not found the images after restoration of Farmhouse can you show images after restoration of it :)

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...