moving Archives - The Weekend Country Girl

Coldspring, moving, new home, Texas, the suburban home

Selling a Home

March 24, 2016 Karen

I am not an expert in a lot of areas. Never ask me to knit, crochet, sew, or bake a soufflé. I can’t grow anything that is is the least bit tricky (this month alone I have killed an orchid and it appears one of my succulents are dying), and car repair of any sort is not my thing.

What I have learned a little about in 34 years of marriage is how to sell a house. As of now we have sold 4 homes, each one sold in less than a month, most in about a week. House number 5 is currently under contract after being on the market for less than 5 days. You can see the home here.

I am pretty proud of our track record selling homes, but my guess is that my kids wished we did things a little differently when they were growing up. My daughter commented once that we never finished any projects until we were putting the house on the market. Guilty as charged.

Here is what we do, when we are selling a home:

” IZE “ your home. You know what I am going to say here already:
- Neutralize– Appeal to the masses. Nothing that would be too taste specific. Not the time for a purple wall or leopard print carpet.
- Depersonalize-You must detach from the home. You are breaking up with this house anyway, so start moving on in your head. Family photos, ribbons, medals, and shopping lists on the fridge must go.
- Minimize- Go ahead and get a start on moving out. Have a garage sale, donate to Goodwill, and store anything that is not essential, in pristine condition, or that is too overpowering. My green hutch and all of the milkglass got moved out. This is not the best shot of my beloved hutch, but it was all I could find. I will have an awesome picture of it when it moves in to my craft room. Promise.
- Sanitize- I am not saying you are dirty people, really I am not. What I am saying is it needs to be cleaner than the way we, at our house, live on a daily basis. We washed the windows inside and out, had the carpet professionally cleaned, weeded the flower beds, and scrubbed the grout in the bathrooms, organized the linen closets, and power washed the sidewalk, porches, and driveway. The bathroom counters got emptied and cleaned. I am sad to say that a lot of that only happens when we have a house on the market.
Upgrade your home. It takes money, and/or elbow grease to make money. In our case a little of both. Mostly on the back of Mr. Math.
- Lighting– This is honestly one of the areas that I do not understand why more people don’t take care of before putting their house on the market. If your house is more than 5 years old, or is a builder basic, you probably have at least one light fixture that needs updating. If you shop around, you can find some great lights for not a lot of money. Mr. Math replaced the very builder basic light on the front porch and in the entry way. I stood on the ground and begged him not to die. Not all lighting is this challenging to change out.
- Flooring– Go with what is selling in your area. I checked out the two recent sales in our neighborhood. See what they both had?
- - Both had hardwood flooring in the family room. We had carpet so we knew we were going to have to up our game. We shopped for the best deal on neutral engineered hardwood flooring and had it installed. We spent some serious money on the flooring, but we knew that it would not get any traffic if we weren’t on par with the other homes on the market. It is really nice, but I probably would have gone a lot more rustic if I was purchasing for me and not the masses.
Make your home memorable. I know I said neutralize, so why would I also say to make it memorable? What I mean is make your home stand out from the rest in the minds of buyers- in a good way. Keep the walls neutral but try to have at least three rooms with something in them that will be remembered by the buyers.
- We added this barn door and buyers can see it as soon as they walk in.
- Our neighbor had this awesome turquoise buffet in the entry way.
- I love my teal dresser that we use as an entertainment center.
- Oh that bathroom. I am going to miss that beauty. The dresser, the antique vanity, the fence board shelving unit and the light are all neutral but very memorable.
- The faux shiplap wall is getting a lot of traffic right now on Pinterest. It is easy, and makes quite a statement.
Hire the realtor in your area that is actually selling homes and then listen to the realtor. The person who is selling homes quickly in your area probably has potential clients already lined up. The realtor we used sold the home next door quickly and for above listing a month before ours went on the market. She had a list of people who are currently looking to move into our neighborhood from her last sale. She also set the price for the house which was higher than I thought we should go. She was right. If she had told us our house was not worth what we believed, we would have had an opportunity to fix the problems before moving on or not list, but I would never list higher than the realtor believes it will sell for. I would either need a different realtor or realistic expectations. Our realtor walked through the house prior to listing to make sure we had everything done that would help the house sell. She was honest and helped us see things that we had not considered with furniture placement.

It made me proud of our hard work that we had more than one family want the home, and that the new buyers wanted to buy some of the furnishings as well.

We love hearing from you. Thank you for following along on our journey as we move into our forever home.

Blessings,

Karen

home decorating, moving, reclaimed wood

Reclaimed Wood Barn Door

March 1, 2016March 7, 2016 Karen

This past weekend we built a barn door. It took a little less than four hours and cost us zero dollars.

Don’t believe me? Well here is the story: we have a barn door in our hallway. It is stunning. The wood is from a hundred year old barn on my husband’s family farm. We collected the wood before the farm sold and all of the buildings were torn down. When we decided to sell our suburban house, the hubby made it clear that the door was coming with us to Providence Acres. I knew that the door makes a statement in our house and will attract buyers. The only solution for us both to be happy was to make a replacement door.

We decided to dig into the wood pile hoard and make it. The wood is cedar fencing that we actually picked up a block from the suburban house when the homeowners had it replaced. We snagged it off the road before heavy trash pick up could ad it has been in a pile outside for the last three years just getting cooler, more weathered, and ancient looking.

When I am using reclaimed cedar fencing here is what I do.

Wash the wood with a jet washer setting on the hose sprayer. Use a brush if there are dirt dobbers (for those of you who don’t live in the south they are a wasp-like bug that builds mud nests on wood), muddy spots, or anything that needs extra attention. Clean both sides.
Leave the cleaned wood to dry in the sun. I usually lean them against a fence. The wood has to dry several days in the sun.
After it is dry, sort the wood and pick out the best pieces. What I consider the best is wood that is not split, and relatively straight.
Cut off the dog-eared top of each board and the ragged bottom of them to see what you have to work with.

I knew we would need 19 boards cut to 40 inches in order to get what I wanted. We would also need 9 foot long trim board and a few boards for the connecting boards.

The boards on the left are my 40 inch boards, the rest went back into the hoard for another use.

We still have a few precious 12 inch wide long cedar boards from replacing our lake house siding but our stash is dwindling. One board was sacrifed for this project. Hubby cut the wood into three inch widths. That gave us four boards to use as the long side boards.

We laid out the boards on the shop floor then glued and air nailed the long boards to them. We added cut down cedar for the top and bottom sections. I decided to use the same pattern as the gate Hubby found in one of the barns on our new place.

The gate on the wall was inspiration for the barn door design.

The diagonal section adds strength and stability to the door.

Our method for cutting the corners was to lay the board down diagonally in the center of the corner then draw the corner on the board. Very unscientific but it worked.

Once the front was done, we added trim boards to the back side.

There were a few places that needed a little sanding where it felt rough. Here it is all put together. Nine feet is tall, folks.

The edge of the boards were left raw. I wanted it to look just like it would have on a barn.

It took three coats of satin polyurethane on each side to turn the wood into this beautiful color.

I love how rich it looks.

Here it is hung up in the hallway.

I love how it looks in our house.

I really do like hearing from you.

I hope your week is wonderful.

Blessings,

Karen

mid-life, moving, new home, Real Life, the suburban home

Sometimes the Answer is Not Yet

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016 Karen

This week Mr. Math and I went to look at the home that is for sale to be moved. He thought it was cute too and was also excited about it. That thrilled me. I sometimes run ahead of myself and was worried that I was stepping out where my husband wasn’t willing to go. He gets me and what I want to do and for that I am grateful.

As we walked around the house, there were some issues that are going to make moving the house very hard and expensive.

There is a concrete foundation wall completely around the perimeter that would have to be demolished before the under the house work could begin because of the design.
The porch is not stable and would have to be removed in order to move the house. The porch beams are attached to a concrete porch and the chances of us successfully removing the porch intact to reattach would be slim.
The bathroom was added on at a later time than the house was built and would have to come off.
The main support beam that runs along the bedroom side of the house has dry rot and would have to be replaced. Mr. Math checked it out top to bottom.

All of that information was a bummer, but still potentially doable. (We still hadn’t given up at that point.) The nail in the coffin on this house for us was that chimney. Well not exactly the chimney, because I already knew it had a chimney that would have to come out. It was the dummy who removed that structural wall between the two front rooms that now has the chimney stack holding up the ceiling weight. The chimney has to go for the house to be moved and in order for the house to be stabilized enough for that to happen. The interior work required for that to happen would be an unreasonable amount of money and would destroy the flooring in the front room.

The brick showing through the Sheetrock

Soooo… the house is not the house is not the one for us. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a house for us out there. I have Craig’s List set to notify me by email everytime a home to be moved is listed. Today this showed up. It is cute, and new, and I love the vaulted ceiling, but it is not what I am looking for.

We have decided to “be still” and wait. I guess my version of being still may not be everyone’s version. My version is to focus on getting things in order to make another life change so that when the opportunity arises we will be ready. Yep. I know you saw this one coming a mile away. When I tell my friends this life change, no one is surprised. NO. ONE. How have I been so personally unaware?

We have decided to put our suburban home on the market, hopefully this spring, if we can get the list of “to do’s” taken care of. We will be commuters to work which I never wanted to do, but our heart is in the country. I never, ever, thought I would say that.

Once our suburban house is sold, we will make the big move to the country. We will be “one home” owners for the first time in 10 years. Frankly, that scares me a little lot. We currently furnish over 4800 square feet. We have six bedrooms, two living rooms, two dining rooms, four bathrooms, and an office. Paring down to 2200 square feet means that we will be getting rid of a lot of things and will have decide what stays and what goes. I am committed to making the hard decisions as we go and letting go of things I do not need or does not have a spot in my home no matter how much I love it. Things like my beloved mudroom bench, my funky bedroom furniture, and one of my media center dressers.

Hold me to that, friends.

I slept all night for the first time in weeks after thinking this all through and getting this post written.

Thank you all for following along on our mid life journey.

In the next six months we will have our first grandchild, put our house on the market and will hopefully make the move to our forever home. There are plenty of projects ahead for me to keep busy.

Blessings,

Karen

Behr Paint with Primer, moving, new home, Painted Furniture

The Expand-O-Matic Facelift

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015 Karen

This past spring I bought this beauty at a community garage sale for $20.00. I had no ideas what it was, but I thought it was cool the way that the front slid out and turned in to a table.

A little research, and checking out the drawers for a label, taught me all about the mid century Expand-O-Matic.

It was designed at a time when we Ameicans were moving off the farms and into the city. Space was tight in apartments so furniture had to do double or triple duty. Here is a a 1960’s advertisement after they tried to update the name by calling in EXPANDWAY. I like the 1940’s/ 1950’s version- Expand-O-Matic.

I find it ironic that I bought it because I am moving to the country not the city. My plan is for the desk/table to move into the back guest room. I plan on us making a Murphy bed for the room along with the desk. It will be able to convert between office space and bedroom as needed.

The room looks like this right now:
As you see above, the room needs love.

The room is going to be kiwi ( a little richer than lime but bright green), cream and teal. The top and legs were stained with a Minwax gel stain called special walnut. I am so excited to have my own space inside he house to paint, sew or just piddle as my mom calls it. It will be a fun, bright, creative space with my awesome painted chair which will have cream legs when we move in, this super cool desk/ worktable, and a kiwi colored cabinet with a Murphy bed in it. I am thinking I will be painting a rug to go in the space in case of disasters that occur when I craft.

Here is the inspiration room:

Of course my room will have a little more of a rustic vibe.

The hardwood runners that allow the table to expand to 6 feet are all cleaned, waxed, and now move easily between open and closed. We still need to fabricate the leaves, but the body is painted (Behr Real Teal) the drawers are a mis-tint sample I picked up for fifty cents. The mis-tint is darker than my go to “sea salt” cream, but still an off white color. I tried to stain the drawers but they were too far gone to save. I was able to save the top and legs even though ther is an ink stain on the top. (I wonder what happened there?)

Ink stain

The drawers above were sanded until I almost sanded through the veneer but they still were not going to look right.

I tried to polish up the hardware but in the end, I had to spray paint them with metallic spray paint. (Rustoelium Soft Iron).

Wouldn’t this piece be great in a mini house?

I found these awesome curtain panels for $5.99 each too! The color is a perfect match to the teal color on the Expand-O-Matic. There are three windows in the office so getting the curtains for under $40.00 is amazing.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

I love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Karen

Country living, moving, new home, painting

My Soon to be Workspace

May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 Karen

It was all over for me when this building opened. We had just found out that the property across the street from our buds at the Rockin F was soon to be on the market. We took the side-by-side over to check it out.

The house… let’s just say I saw potential.

The barn was cool. I was thrilled with the locally milled wood flooring and the potential of turning it into a a gathering space. I also love that it has a pond out front.

The workshop was awesome. It wouldn’t work as a shop for me and my big projects but I saw it immediately as a guest house.

The current workshop is going be a 400 square foot guest house that is decorated with an industrial, mid century modern vibe. I have the coolest stuff saved up for this spot and it is going to be great. There will be a bathroom, small kitchenette space, and a queen sized Murphy bed. My goal is to have it functional by Christmas when the kids come home. tick, tick, tick.

Back to the garage/workshop…

The three bay work space made me swoon. Bay number 1 was full of an amazing classic car, but I saw a paint booth. Bay two was full of lawn equipment but I believe it will be the big tool space. Table saw, chop saw, drill press, table sander will go here.

The third bay will be my creative space. It has a wood burning stove, a a tool storage (complete with French door that will need to be changed so I don’t break it,) and room for me to work even in our wet winters/summers/springs. (It has been a super wet year.) We will be putting a door between the bays so that we can get between the spaces. We will be also putting in a door to the deck at the rear so we can have access to water and a cooler shaded space in the summer. The back deck is going to be our outdoor kitchen.

See the three sets of doors in the long metal building? That is the garage/workshop.

Who doesn’t love a wood burning stove in the workshop?

We are going to have a great space to work and create. Currently the third bay is a welding shop. Oh, how I wish I could weld.

That space is going to be where we can assemble things, touch up paint, and finish off a project. I am so excited to have a place where the sawdust and mess will be away from the finish work.

I know for most of you this doesn’t look like your dream space but it sure does for me. I cannot wait to have a dedicated space to work and create. I know that some of you are looking at those photos thinking… “What are they thinking?”, but we see this place as it will be for us, not as it is now.

We are blessed.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you for following along on our journey. I would love to hear from you.

Karen

collecting, Fun with friends, Mirror, moving, resale finds

Weekend Finds

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 Karen

Saturday, before I found out that The sale of our near the lake house fell through, I took off in search of treasures for the home we hope to purchase. (It is funny how attached I am to that place. If it doesn’t work out I expect sympathy cards 😊) My buddy, the social planner, and I took off in search of treasures mainly for the Guest Shed and the outdoor kitchen.

Our first spot was my honey hole. A church thrift store where a ton of my treasures came from.

At the honey hole I spotted these two mid century pieces.

An iconic pink swan planter. I picked up this one in perfect condition for 50 cents. A succulent is going in it out in the guest shed. What a fun piece.

A vintage bamboo planter. Shawnee Pottery is very popular. I like the subtle color of green. I especially liked it for 25 cents. I am planning to put some sort of succulent in it, too.

My final purchase at this stop was a small white pitcher. I collect them. I don’t know why, but I just can’t seem to pass them up. It was 50 cents.

Our next stop was new to me but I loved it and will be going back.

Two etched glass mirrors. The rectangular one will be going in the guest shed bathroom and one will be part of a mirror wall going in the guest bathroom in the main house. ( I have a mirror problem.) I hope it looks something like this photo I found on Pinterest.

The link to the picture is broken or I would provide the source.

I picked these two beauties up for 3 dollars each. I know what you are thinking. I absolutely take the worst photos of mirrors.

The social planner spotted this cream and sugar set in the most amazing teal color for me. I got them for another 3 bucks.

The social planner found stuff at the first stop too, then found a teapot to match her dishes and a salt glaze cow pitcher. Her stuff was a little pricey but was a steal for what she was getting. At check out she found out it was a cash only spot. We pooled resources to get her treasures. After she checked out she spied an awesome walnut mid century side table for me. It was marked 20 dollars but the owner offered it to me for 15. We reminded her that we didn’t have another 15 dollars between us. She asked if we could scrape up 10 and we were able to cobble it together. I love having a buddy who enjoys shopping at the same places I do. I also love that she and I are good enough friends that we are able to share resources.

By the time I got pictures of her treasures she already had them working.

The clean lines on the table will be perfect in the guest shed just as it is with a little waxing. I am getting excited about the treasures I am collecting for this space.

Our next stop was a church garage sale. We picked up 4 gallon sized glass jars for 50 cents each. They are going to be squirrle feeders. Our hubbies are going to make the four of them. One for each of our houses and one eac for gifts. I am thinking my grand dog needs one so she can have squirrels to chase in her yard.

Finally, we stopped at a church bazaar where we literally had to collect coins in order to buy two old colanders for an upcoming craft night.

All in all it was a great time shopping.

On the way home the social planner got busy looking up what we purchased. Here is what we would have paid online for the items:

I guess if this whole selling the house thing falls through, I can start selling my treasures!

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

If you are new to my site, welcome. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Blessings,

Karen

Behr Paint with Primer, Country Style, Dining Table, moving, new home, Painted Furniture, recycled furniture

When Furniture Finds Its Way Home

April 8, 2015April 8, 2015 Karen

A sweet couple that used to live across the street from us moved to Hawkins, Texas- population 1278. When they moved they sold me their farmhouse table. They just did not think that they had room for the long table in their new dining room. I really only bought it for the legs because the top was not solid wood. The table hung out in the Garagemahal for months, and I do mean months. It was heavy and had to be moved any time that I was working on a project so I started to think I just needed to get rid of it. I decided just to paint it all out and sell it. I mentioned on Facebook to my friends that I was going to be selling the table and guess who responded that she wanted it? The original owner! As soon as I started on the table, a friend gave me two chairs and a bench that I knew would be joining the table. They we’re a mess, but wood.

I also had four other chairs hanging out in the Garagemahal that I bought for a song at Canton.

Do you like mixing and matching chairs around a table as much as I do? I love painting mixed chairs the same color. All in my friend ended up with a table that seats 8 for her dining room. The fabric on the chairs is young and fresh, just like my friends.

I love the Behr sea salt bottom and the revival mahogany together on the table but next year when our life is a little slower I would like to change out the top for a stained solid wood top.

My buddy waited a long time to get her table and chairs (like since November) but this past Saturday I got the chance to go and visit their little bit of heaven.

I love the dark mustard walls with the upholstery.

They call their home the Crooked T Ranch, I think it is charming. I am smitten with her sunroom/craft room and her bathroom has an original fireplace and chandelier in it.

Coldspring, Country living, Country Style, Dining Table, Dresser, home decorating, master bedroom, moving, new home

My Moving In To Do List

April 1, 2015April 1, 2015 Karen

It looks like we will moving into what I believe will be our home we will happily (weekend for now) house, so I am making my list of must do or must find items. Feel free to join in if you have suggestions.

We aren’t even going to start on the outside this summer. It has to work inside first.
I don’t have any interior photos of our soon to be home yet. I am going to get some soon. The house is a traditional ranch home built in the 1980’s. The two car garage at the end of the house has been taken in and makes for a long continuous room. The fireplace is on a side wall in what would have been the middle of the original family room space.

We included a lot of our lake house furniture in the sale of the house so I have some work to do.

Master Bedroom: We have the essentials. We have a bed, night stands, dresser and chest. We need a headboard and I wouldn’t cry if I got the dresser and chest refinished before moving in. I plan on staining the tops and drawer fronts darker and paint the body of the pieces creamy white with glaze. We have our sewing machine base side tables but my sweet door headboard is not coming with us. I am not going to make major changes to the master because an addition to the master is on our short list, but it is not an immediate project . Any ideas for the headboard?

Family Room: We have a couch, two recliners (don’t judge me, I have to make the husband happy and a recliner is high on the list along with a ceiling fan), the funky dresser that is going to serve as our media center and a television. That is all we have, really. We need everything else. No tables, no shelving, I am not even sure what we need in this space. We will be re configuring the galley kitchen that runs parallel to the family room as one of our first projects so right now it is hard for me to even imagine what the space is going to look like. We are just going to have to see what we can find or build to make this room comfortable until we get the remodel done.

Dining Space: We sold everything in our current dining room. Hutch and buffet, chairs, table are all gone. I have a table hanging out in the Garagemahal that has these super chunky legs. I was given these amazing chairs and have the parts for a bench so that part is done. I need to figure out a rustic “China” cabinet. Do you have any suggestions? Please send photos!

We have two bedrooms that have absolutely nothing to go in them. I am thinking seriously about a Murphy type bed for one room and turning that room into an office/ study/ reading space. I want a set of French doors in that room for light. We will be taking out a window and adding the doors as we can afford it. If we are going to live there in the winter months I will need a well lit room to escape to. A bed that only comes out for company will be perfect. I have no idea about the third bedroom.

I like the one above minus the bench that seems very complicated. Relax Shack

This one seems easy and there is even a video.

The master, den, and dining will be about all we get done because there is one project I did not mention is that every, and I do mean every single room has cream colored carpet. Bathrooms, kitchen, family room carpet must go even if we move in with concrete floors it will be better than dealing with carpet. We hope to get tile down in the bathrooms before we move in.

Guess who will be busy for the foreseeable future? Feel free to help out on our upcoming projects. We welcome free labor.😄

Thank you for taking the time to read the blog and connecting with me.

Blessings,

Karen

Coldspring, Country living, Country Style, curb appeal, Dining Table, kitchen storage, mid-life, moving, San Jacinto county

Selling Star Hill

January 15, 2015January 15, 2015 Karen

Well, we are taking the plunge. Star Hill, our near the lake cabin in Coldspring, Texas is going on the market. We planned to meet with a Realtor Sunday to discuss selling our near the lake house, Star Hill. She actually could not come because she broke her leg, but we will be putting the house on the market very soon. I decided to do all the research I could in her absence to make sure we are ready to sell this place and buy the property we are dreaming about near our lake house.

Having someone you don’t know walk through a place you poured blood, sweat, tears and time into when selling your home is hard. Being judged on your effort is hard. Loving the place and wanting whoever buys the house to love it, too is our hope.

After doing the research on getting a home sold quickly and trusting my gut I have composed a to do list.

Exterior:

Get concrete work completed on porch.

Paint porch rails. ( The dog is not for sale. Every time I get out the camera she manages to jump into the shot. )

Clean out flower bed, trim bushes, get leaves up.

Fix deck boards and popped nails then paint deck with sprayer.

Garagemahal:

Clear porch of items except patio set.

Move cedar from my cedar windfall to boat storage.

Finish outstanding projects. I have three that need to get knocked out on the first dry-warmish day.

Clean, clean, clean.

Interior:

Continue to declutter. It will probably mean moving some furniture to storage. The cedar cabinet provides great storage but it makes the guest room feel small. The Western Dresser can go to storage, one of the night stands in the front bedroom. The shelving unit in the back closet along with the skis can go.

We have a large list but can get it knocked out if motivated-and we are motivated.

We plan to list the home with a realtor the first of March but we honestly hope it sells sooner by owner.

I would love your input on the list and suggestions from those of you who have sold second homes.

Here are some shots of the house this weekend.

Master Bedroom

Exterior

Front Room

Blessings,

Karen

Blogging, Coldspring, mid-life, moving, new home, Real Life, San Jacinto county, The Garagemahal

Wishing, Hoping, Praying and Dreaming

January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 Karen

This year I become eligible for retirement. Wow! How in the world did that happen? Time has flown by. I will not be retiring this year, but the realization that I could retire is causing my husband and me to give some serious thought to our future. We are both healthy, active, and still full of dreams and plans. There are places we want to visit, things we want to learn, and goals we want to accomplish.

Our biggest decision for the past few years is where to live. We decided two years ago to move to a new school district and community. We know for sure that was a great decision, but at the same time we don’t plan on living in that community after retirement.

My husband and I met in college, and we weren’t from the same part of Texas. Neither of us feels a strong pull to our home towns. We both have friends where we grew up, I have family still in the city I grew up in, but it feels like I am visiting when we go back.

A lot of prayer and self reflection on our parts has helped us to know that our adopted weekend community is home for us.

I am positive that our sweet “near the lake” house, Star Hill, is not our forever home. A week or two is about as long as I can be confined here in the winter. I need a studio and workshop. My creative side cries out for a space to have projects out, to experiment, to think. I also would like to sell more furniture in my retirement. Hubby wants a tractor, a garden, woods to walk in, a pond and outdoor projects.

Star Hill

The Garagemahal

We believe we may have found just the place. 15 acres, with a workshop, a creek, a barn, wooded trails, very near our friends, a garden plot, a greenhouse, a small pond, and several other outbuildings that I would really enjoy doing some neat things with. I am not crazy about the house, but it is solid. well cared for and has a ton of potential. It will take work and money but it can become the house I see in my mind’s eye.

The barn and the pond.

The side yard. The garden plot is in the back of this cleared plot of land. Water is run to the garden area.

My favorite area. The shop is the small building and the outbuildings here will make a perfect paint and furniture area. both have wood burning stoves in them.

The house. The greenhouse is visible behind the house.

The outbuildings. There are some very interesting buildings that I could really have fun with.

The property will come on the market this spring. In order to purchase this property we will have to sell Star Hill. That means we will have to focus on getting all of those “one day” projects done. We will be making sure that this place we love is ready for her close up. We are already praying that a family will buy the place who can love this place as much as we do and will create new memories in this home.

Look for lots of projects that are focused on the house and the property in the next few months. We have things to learn like concrete work and more of Hubby’s favorite: plumbing. (Ha!)

We plan on keeping our home in the burbs for several more years until we both retire so even this new spot will be our weekend home for a while.

I have a few projects in the Garagemahal I have already either sold or promised to someone. Other than that we will be keeping furniture projects to a minimum as we focus on clearing out, fixing up, and moving forward.

We ask you to pray with us that if this property is meant to be ours, everything will work out. If not, that we will have peace and direction in our journey.

Thank you all for continuing with us on another chapter of our journey.

I hope you have a wonderful new year. I would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Karen