Upstairs Bedroom

I want to show you one of the upstairs bedrooms, but before I do that,  I want to show you some furniture re-dos. 

Last July, while Dave was bike riding, he saw this on the curb for trash pick-up!  He went back the next day with the truck and it was still there!  It did NOT have the green handles.  He was just seeing what they would look like, because he didn't think he'd ever be able to find handles to match the other ones.  And the top was all messed up.  He was going to use it for a workbench in the garage!!!  WHAT!  I said I wanted to use it in the upstairs bedroom and he said it would never fit!  

We really needed to update/paint some of our furniture.  However, you might recall I was  D.O.N.E.  painting.  O V E R  I T!  So, I suggested Dave make friends with Joanna Gaines and Annie Sloan on You Tube.  He did!

I don't have a before picture of this chair, but it was very bright and shiny red with a very modern cushion material.  I picked it up at a garage sale for $15.00. 

And this was under the very modern material...

 

So, I got into my material stash. 

 We have a winner!

TA DA! 

 Next up was this old night stand.  I bought it in the early 1990's and painted it mauve'! 

Do you say MAWWVE or MOOOOOVE.  (long ooooo like mow)

Either way, I love it now.

 This bookshelf, which I KNOW needs styled,  was white with old yellowed varnish.  I was at a friends house in a nearby town and it was sitting outside in the rain.  I said I'd take it and he brought it to our house a few days later!  It's a great memory because he has since passed away. 
Anyway, don't you think Dave did a good job painting!

 And the best.....I got this bed for $10 at an auction a few years ago, knowing we were going to need extra beds.

 So here is one of our upstairs bedrooms, and this happens to be the one everyone loves.  You'll see why...

 Cute little extra window up high to let in more light.  The door leads into the upstairs foyer.

Yep, this room has a balcony/porch!

Funny story...when we first started building this house in 2010, my then seven year old niece was telling her cousins about "their room!"  She said, "you should see it.  It has a balcony.  Do you know what that is?  It means we can go outside, but we won't be touching the grass!" 

The plantation shutters came from Lowes.com

When we first talked about moving to the country, I wanted an old house.  He did not.  We both like old furniture and stuff, but he did not like working on old houses.  He said, "what if we build a new house, but make it look old.  We can give it character."  I thought that was a great idea.  A wonderful compromise.

 

 We have a pond across the road, that has a creek that runs through it, that is surrounded by a woods. It's hard to get the pond all in one picture, so hopefully you get the idea.

I tried to do a panoramic view which never works for me.

You can also see the front of the house which has my herb garden.

 And the basement patio area, which is another post for another time!

 I hope you enjoyed the upstairs bedroom TA DA post!!!

Cindy

A New Beginning or Pouring out my heart about building your own house!

Yes it's me, posting again.  

Last weekend, while Dave and I were visiting southern Indiana for a little mini-get away, I brought up the very first post on this house blog, and read it to him. 
Then I read a couple more posts. 
As the saying goes, we've come a long way baby!  
And we actually enjoyed reading the posts!  

When looking back, I can't even believe we built this house.  Except for the fact that I still remember starting to resent the time it was taking.  Honestly, it was not how I wanted to spend my life.  And that's how I was beginning to feel. In the beginning it seemed like a grand idea.

• You save A LOT OF MONEY doing things yourself. 
• You spend  A LOT OF TIME doing things yourself!  

I kept thinking... praying... begging... for time to slow down.  I was almost feeling panicky (is that a word?) about it.  I was beginning to feel that my 50's were being wasted on painting trim, walls, doors, etc.  Not to mention insulating, helping lay floor, helping re-do rafters, sub-flooring, helping run wire, climbing into the attic, screwing bolts into trusses, helping with all kinds of construction. 
I get construction!  
I know how to use power tools! 
House plans make sense to me now!  sometimes...

I remember saying, "I JUST WANT TO BE A GIRL!"

And here are two very true and important things I can tell you about construction. 

• It WILL go over the time deadline.
• It WILL go over budget!

We broke ground in September of 2010.  We were the general contractors. 

By the time the contractors finished with pouring the basement, which was supposed to begin in July, and the framers finished framing, it was November.  And snow came the day after the roof was laid!  And it didn't stop snowing all winter.  So basically, we didn't start work again until the following Spring.  Behind already!

Back in the day, when I was writing this blog, trying to record progress, life was so CRAZY busy, it became one more chore to do in a long list of chores. When you build a house....build your own house....life goes on.  Celebrations happen.  Birthdays, Holidays, bridal showers, baby showers, bachelorette parties!, weddings, caregiving (I didn't realize I was a caregiver until it ended) funerals, entertaining, sickness, surgeries, etc.  We had it all!

I NEEDED A BREAK!  

WE NEEDED A BREAK!

We actually finished the upstairs in April of 2018. 

And we didn't move a stitch of furniture up there until several months later! 

We were DONE!  

Fast forward to now!  2019  
I LOVE THIS PLACE! 
I love living in a house that I LOVE!  
Dave is very creative and making all kinds of fun changes, that has increased my love for this place!  
And I want to share them with you.
When I look around I see a lot of things I want to share. 
I want to continue to record this journey.
So I am.

I have also started an Instagram account for the house. 
thehouseonhilltopfarm
And for those that do not have IG, I plan to record the same thing here, as long as my computer holds out.  I'm still as tech savvy as I've always been, which is not at all!  I'll stumble through.

But right now, I see some hydrangeas that I best get out and cut before they fade totally away, and I don't have any dried for fall arrangements!

Cindy