The Story Of Our House Part 1

Hello dear friends, while we are waiting for the renovation work to start again I thought I would share a little bit about the story about how this became our house!

We purchased the farm in 1991 after having spent some time looking for a country property.  Our previous home was a semi detached house in town and while we liked it we wanted to have a bigger property.  There were also some health issues that were playing on our minds and we thought a move to the country where we would be able to raise some of our own food should be our new direction.  To this end we had a wish list that included an old stone house with character, lots of acreage, and it had to be within a reasonable commuting distance of work.  We looked at so many properties that were too big, too small, too run down or too expensive before finally settling on this one.

Fast forward to perhaps 5 years or so ago.  A lady that we don't know stopped to chat to my husband while he was working outside.  She said that she used to live in this house in the 1970s and that she had an old oil painting her mother had done of what was called "the doll house".  If she could find it she would give it to us, and here it is!  Isn't it charming?

The painting is dated 1978.  We bought the property only 13 years later but by then it had suffered from quite a lack of love.  There had been a change in owners and a change in financial situation and the house was showing many signs of neglect.  We were much younger then and youth combined with enthusiasm can be a wicked combination.  We fell in love with the property and were determined to fix it up.

When we thought of "fixing up" this old property we had no idea what we were getting into.  Some other time I will share more gory details!  But for the purposes of this story I will just say the house was small.  It did not have any insulation in the walls or attic.  The original windows were the old wavy bubbled glass which were lovely but allowed wind to come howling in.  Our pipes froze.  It was an overwhelming and expensive undertaking, and looking back I have no idea why we thought taking on this project was a good idea.

Over the years we have made several changes to the house and property.  We replaced all of the old windows with new custom made windows.  We replaced the front door and built a veranda on the front of the house and a covered porch on the back.

Eleven years ago we decided to have an addition built which more than doubled the size of the house.  By this time the front veranda was about 15 years old so we had it rebuilt and had it wrap around the side of the house.  We had a new roof and had the attic insulated.  The addition (on the right of the photo above) included a large dining room, a main floor bathroom with a shower and a large kitchen.  The second floor of the addition included a master bedroom with ensuite, a balcony, and a guest bedroom.  The addition addressed many of the issues that had become sticky points for us in the old house.

Some significant regrading was required while the addition was being built so we added a large stone wall.  We call this area our portico entry.  We were amazed at how much effort the stonemasons took in placing the stones on this part of the house.

We added a large deck that is accessed from our kitchen with two areas...a covered area with a dining set and an open area with a seating arrangement.

Many years ago I had read a blog about a house that had a balcony off of the master bedroom and the idea stuck in my mind.  We decided to add a 10 x 12 foot balcony to the second floor which  is accessed through French doors from the master bedroom and provides a view over a large part of our property.

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Two years ago we added a garage with a loft that provides a space for me to work on quilting projects.  For the first time in its' life my car was able to be parked inside.  :)

This is Rose Cottage which my husband built about 6 years ago.  We primarily use it to storage garden furniture over the winter although I do have some plans on how to use this building over the summer months.

Six years ago we decided to invest in having Lake Ophelia rehabilitated.  This was originally dug as a farm pond perhaps 25 years ago but over time bullrushes took over, the water level dropped, and the area became a hunting ground for the coyotes that would sometimes attack our sheep.  Lake Ophelia is named after a yellow lab that loved to sneak off for a swim.  It measures approximately 200 feet by 125 feet and is about 14 feet deep.  We added a ramp with a floating platform which is a great area for reflection and bird watching.

We also built a little lake house with a deck.  It is a very peaceful area and we love to have barbecues there.  If you would like to read more about our lake house here is a link to a previous post : 

https://carogilfarm1994.blogspot.com/2024/08/building-our-lakehouse.html

And that my friends is a bit of the story of how we came to live here and some of the changes that we have made over the last 30 years.  We expect the workers to return to the renovation project this week and I will soon have more the share.

Wishing everyone a great week and thank you for visiting my blog.