new house

Thoughts on the New Year

January 2, 2018 · family, gardening, Homesteading, new house

This past fall and the Holidays have been a blur–I seriously wanted to skip Christmas this year. Is anyone else with me?!? With everything else going on it became pretty stressful (and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately on why we celebrate it in the first place). A new year always prompts me to reflect upon what I want to change and improve for the future. How is it that several of my New Year’s goals from years ago are still yet to be fulfilled? Living a simpler, healthy lifestyle while attempting to homestead is so much harder now that I have children. Perhaps now that our big move is completed and we are setting our sights towards the spring garden, our homestead goals will be easier to reach (hopefully).

Still, it feels like we are often overwhelmed with work, kids, activities, church, and day-to-day life (even with me working part-time) and keeping on top of trying to produce and locally source our own healthy farm-to-table food becomes a burdensome task. I so easily fall back into my old ways when I need to get in the habit of planning and preparing nourishing and seasonal foods. Baking my own bread weekly, preparing fermented foods and drinks, soaking nuts and legumes prior to use, canning and preserving seasonal produce, and finding local sources of grass-fed meats and organic dairy are some of my top priorities for the new year. Other priorities include exercising more often in a way that fits in at home and more time for not just Bible study but longer, dedicated periods of prayer and fasting. I’m also hoping to observe the Biblical feasts that are set apart as the Father’s holy days this year!

But where do I find the time for it all? Sometimes I can fit it in on the weekends, sometimes at night, other times during the day when the girls are napping or otherwise occupied. But during busy weeks or months it’s awfully easy to fall behind. I usually don’t get everything done that I aim for. Basically, I have huge, never-ending to-do list (does this sound familiar, anyone?)

As I’m sure you have been able to tell, I’ve neglected this blog (yet again), and I’m afraid I won’t always be posting regularly in 2018. I still hope to provide updates on the house (room tours for sure!), the homestead, and the garden, but the blog is not something high up on my to-do list and I’m not quite sure when or if I will find the time to update as often as I’d like. Unlike so many lovely blogs out there, it is not a source of income for me and I purely engage in blogging for personal enjoyment and to keep my family and close friends informed of what’s happening in our little corner of the world.

So here’s to a brand New Year! May the Lord Bless you and keep you in 2018!

The Powder Room

November 18, 2017 · decorating the roost, javascript:void(0);, new house

Ya’ll, this is seriously the only room that is “finished” being put together for a tour on the blog right now. I know–not much to see yet but we have to start somewhere, right?

We moved in a little over a month ago and are still getting artwork and pictures hung on the walls and lots of little things organized. Plus, there are a few projects we still have to complete (the list is never-ending!)

Anyway, on to the powder room. This room is the first room on the right as you walk into the entry of the house. It’s conveniently placed in the entryway just off of the living room for easy access.

Here is a picture with the door to the room closed:

The half-bath, or powder room, is a small, rectangular room, really just the right size for a toilet and sink. It feels plenty big though with the tall ceilings (10 feet) we have throughout the first floor rooms. Nothing special about it except–SURPRISE–the chocolate brown tiolle-inspired wallpaper!!

Everyone told me I should not do wallpaper (this is the only room we papered) but I didn’t listen to them and I’m SO glad I went with my gut because I absolutely am in love with this beautiful wallpaper from the Home Depot. Ya’ll know how much I love chocolate brown tiolle (like my transferware collection, glider in the nursery, etc.) Our builder literally had to bring someone out of retirement to hang our wallpaper because so few people are using it anymore. I feel like it’s making a comeback 🙂

Above the toilet are two Paul Sawyier prints–something I have a lot of throughout my home. Paul Sawyier was a famous watercolor artist from Kentucky who painted quite a bit of his work near the Kentucky River and particularly in my hometown of Frankfort. I love the soft colors and delicate beauty of his pieces and have collected prints ever since getting married. Most of them were given to me as gifts and a lot of them have special significance–for example, one of the larger prints we have depicts Berry Hill Mansion, where my husband and I were married.

The floors are the same as the rest of the downstairs public rooms–standard oak hardwood floors stained in “dark walnut” and finished with a satin finish.

The sink is by Mansfield and is a basic pedestal sink. The chrome faucet is Delta Cassidy with the cross handles. We opted for a chrome hook instead of a towel bar. The mirror is an inexpensive antique I had at our old house and it worked nicely in this room with its silver finish on the frame. The light fixture is a simple barn-light type fixture with a galvanized/aluminum finish from Capital Lighting Gallery in Raleigh (from where we selected most of our fixtures).

Most of the time we have a cute little stool helping the girls reach the sink in this room. I’ve decided to show all my rooms how we really use them–because this is real life and I don’t want to feed you a lie. I feel like so many blogs out there have rooms “staged” so beautifully but they are not practical nor functional for how people really live. So I’m hoping and planning to keep it real with all of you friends!

The awesome guy who did our wallpaper even lined up and camouflaged the outlets and light switches! Can you spot them??

I love that we decided to do something surprising and different in this room despite the advice of others. It’s just such a fun change from all the white in the rest of the house. Hope you enjoyed the first of the tours of our new home. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Transitioning Chickens to a New Home

November 11, 2017 · chickens, Homesteading, new house

Ever wondered how chickens would do when moving to a new house?

Chickens take a while to adjust to their environment when transitioning to a new home and it’s important to make the move as easy and painless as possible for them to avoid placing too much stress on your flock. Yup, they get stressed out just like we do when having to move!

We moved in our new house one month ago and are still getting adjusted. Our flock is making do in a temporary coop and pen until we are able to build something more permanent for them. Below is a step-by-step guide based on our experience with moving our flock:

1. Have the new coop, food, water, nest boxes, and everything set up in place BEFORE you move your flock to the new house or property. We plan to build a new coop (in conjunction with our barn) but for now we have a temporary set up with a large electric fence pen that will work for the time being.

2. When you are ready to transport them, gather them up (night time is when they are most docile) and place them in a pet carrier, large ventilated box with bedding, or chicken carrier/cage and carefully place into your vehicle. If you will be traveling a far distance, provide some food and water in whatever type of carrier in which you will transport the chickens.

3. Once you have arrived at your new residence, place the carrier into the new pen or coop and open the door and allow the chickens to come out on their own. Throw some treats out to encourage them to step out and explore.

4. Keep the chickens inside of the coop with access to a run or pen for several weeks before letting them roam free (they might try to return to their old home).

5. Visit the chickens regularly to make sure they are adjusting to their new environment. You may even want to add some fun new things to their new coop/pen like new roosts, nest box areas, a sand box for dust bathing, and areas where they can be in the sun or in the shade.

We are hoping our chickens will like their new homestead–they will certainly have a lot more room to roam once we allow them to free range (which will only be on occasion). Breeding will also be a top priority for my flock once we have the new coop built. As you can see, we literally haven’t done anything with the outside of our house since we’ve moved in. No landscaping yet–just one little project at a time.

Have you ever transitioned your flock to a new home? Please feel free to share any tips!

Bare Bones New House Tour

October 19, 2017 · decorating the roost, family, Homesteading, new house

It’s moving time!! Excited? Check. Stressed out? Check. A little nervous? Check. Thankfully, all went well and we are starting to settle in nicely. It feels like a dream and we are so in love with our new home 🙂

I thought I would share with you a few photos that I snapped of the finished new house before the big day of the move. It looks so clean, peaceful, and lovely–here’s to hoping it won’t become too cluttered with all our stuff.

It’s amazing to see how much stuff one can accumulate over the course of several years–we are really trying to purge whatever we can and pare down to the necessities, things we love, and keep in storage only the few things we can’t bear to part with yet.

Anyway, now moving on with the house tour…..

Let’s start with the entry (viewed from the dining room). Also included in this photo is the door revealing the powder room. There is a pop of pattern (surprise!) from wallpaper that I just love in that room, but you’ll have to wait for a later post for more photos 🙂

Next we have the dining room:

The “great room” is two-stories high and features a fireplace with brick surround and old-growth heart pine mantel, built-in bookcases, and beadboard above the fireplace mantel. Floors throughout the first floor (except in the master bedroom and bath) are standard red oak hardwood floors stained in dark walnut.

Here is the view from the great room looking into the kitchen where the kitchen table or “breakfast nook” will be:

I am so in love with our kitchen. We opted for a wide galley style with no island since I wanted a big open farmhouse kitchen. If need be, we can always pull in a cart to the middle for extra prep space but honestly we have plenty of counter space as it is. The cabinets are shaker style all custom made by our builder who specializes in cabinetry, with a custom range hood to match. The big cast iron farm sink is one of my favorite things in this room and I absolutely love the view of our future garden out of the casement windows.

The view from the kitchen into the little bar nook that accesses the pantry and the laundry room:

Our wonderfully large laundry room also doubles as a mud room. It’s a great storage and utility space which we desperately needed.

Continuing on to the master bedroom, located on the first floor:

In between the bedroom and the master bathroom (shown below) is a hallway with a walk-in master closet on one side and a large linen closet on the other. Glorious storage!

A large vanity and mirrors built by our builders provide ample storage and counter space. The master bath shower features white subway tile, grey quartz and a “pebble” shower floor. We plan on adding in a bathtub later to the room. A water closet is located on the other side of the vanity.

Walking up the stairs to the second floor, a nice view from above of the great room:

Upstairs we have a miniature “loft” leading to two bedrooms each with their own bath and a bonus room. The bedrooms and baths mirror each other in their layout. Below is the girls’ bathroom:

And the girls’ bedroom is, of course–pink!!

The guest bath turned out so adorable with all the classic grey and white tile, an antique washstand used as a vanity with a vessel sink and wall-mount faucet.

The guest room:

And finally, the room with the most beautiful view: our screened-in porch. These pictures were taken before the floor was stained in a dark slate color. We can’t wait to entertain out here and relax in the peaceful countryside.

Hope you enjoyed the brief tour. It’s been a crazy week getting everything moved and unpacked. I can’t wait to share with you each room once I have it set up and decorated. It’s been tiring but oh so much fun!

Shaker Design Inspiration

September 21, 2017 · decorating the roost, new house

I’ve always been a huge fan of Shaker design and Shaker architecture. Every time I took a visit to Shakertown, or Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Kentucky–not far from where I grew up–I would come away inspired and in love with the beauty scattered all over the village’s rolling hills.

Me and BJ at Shakertown (photo by Orange Sheep Photography, 2011)

Numerous volumes have been written on the architecture of the Shakers and their well-known, simplistic designs for furniture, use of materials, and interior arrangements.

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I feel like Shaker design and furniture has a timeless appeal–it almost never goes out of style if used in the right context. I love the clean lines and the look of a well-made, primitive piece.

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We choose to go with several Shaker-inspired designs for our new house–mostly embodied in our cabinetry, simple interior trim, stair and stair railing, and shelving with Shaker peg rails underneath. I’m not strictly married to Shaker principles because, after all, I still want an overall farmhouse feel, but I love the simplistic look enough to opt for it over something else more fussy when forced with making a design choice.

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For example, we decided to forego any crown molding–including any on the top of our cabinetry in our kitchen and our built-in bookshelves in the great room. We do have baseboards–but those are common in farmhouses of all types and serve a practical purpose rather than just decorative. Our cabinets are simple, Shaker panels with inset doors/drawers and wood knobs–no beading or any other decorative detailing.

Below is a sneak peek of some of our kitchen cabinetry. Sorry for the poor photo quality–I’ve only had time to take pictures on my phone at this point:

I think Shaker design goes well with a farmhouse and I love that I’m able to pull inspiration from one of my favorite places in Kentucky to visit 🙂