Our Biggest Mess: Our First Love, The Shanty

We took an impromptu trip on Tuesday to visit the in-laws. Thomas needed to go to his hometown to do some engineering work, so I decided that we should go, too. We haven't see my mother-in-law since Christmas, and my oldest has been begging me to go. One lovely thing about no school-aged kids is packing up and leaving whenever I like.

Did you know that our current remodel isn't our first? It will be the first to be completed, but our love of old (and falling apart) houses started the summer of 2009 when we bought our first house. We fondly refer to this house as The Shanty. The Shanty is in Thomas' hometown, just down the road from his mom and dad. While we were visiting this week we stopped by to say hello. I snapped a few pictures for you all to enjoy.

The property is beautiful. It is a full fenced-in acre of land in the middle of town complete with an apple orchard. In the spring wild sweet peas bloom ten shades of pink that match the mountains. This is where we plan on raising our babies, chickens, and a pumpkin patch. The Shanty is our dream.

The house is in terrible shape. We have always planned on renovating it, but after working on our current house, I hope we just tear it down and start over. It would honestly be less work to start new. We'll see what happens when we get there though.

The Shanty:

Don't you love the color? I think I'll repaint the kitchen this color one day.

We started the renovation process on this house the summer we bought it, but haven't made time to do much more (we've gained 2 children, 2 degrees, and a second house since we bought The Shanty!). We removed all of the lathe and plaster and 3 chimneys as well as the floor.

The front door which used to be closed.

Hello front door.

The back door:

I loved the reflection that I caught in the window.

Back of the house:

The yard is HUGE! An acre is gigantic. Our property now is on a half acre and it takes me 2 ½ hours to mow! This is going to take forever. We want a huge garden and a berry patch to fill up the yard though.

Part of the orchard is big and established, but these trees are only a few years old.

Our property ends at the white fence. It will be the perfect yard for kids one day.

Well, there you have it; The Shanty at its best. We love where we are but can't wait to live closer to our family. There is something magical about cousin relationships and sleepovers at Grandma's house. We want all that and more for our kids because our parents sacrificed to give that to Thomas and I as children.

Thanks for that Mom and Dad.

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Susan Carroll

January 07, 2014 at 9:23 pm

AuntSue
Girl, it has no foundation! Save the best bits for reuse, and start from scatch.

Heather

March 08, 2012 at 8:27 pm

Oh the Shanty, how I missed the original remodel. First, I love that turquoise color. If you do tear it down you could make those boards and make them into a board with coat hangers on them (did that make sense) and that back door is begging to be a large 6 frame picture frame painted a lovely color. But, let's focus on the current Shanty. How are you hanging in. When I do my dished at my lovely sink, I think of you.

Katie

March 08, 2012 at 5:12 pm

There really is something magical about cousin sleepovers at grandma's 🙂 I've never done anything more than paint a wall, but I can't imagine what a sense of accomplishment it has to be to completely redo a house! Go for it 🙂

crystal

March 08, 2012 at 2:05 pm

If you could live somewhere else during renovations, it could be managed a second time. I know from experience that it is cheaper to build from scratch if for no other reason than your time invested. Good luck with all you dreams, and just keep working, working, working! 🙂

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