Here’s a look at a small furniture project.
Before we got the barn, we never really had a master bedroom – certainly not one large enough to have a nightstand on each side of the bed! So we found these guys on Craigslist for $15 each, roughed them up with some sandpaper, and painted them a true gray.
(True confession: the knobs cost more than the tables, as they cost $8 each.)
But at the end, it was a pretty thrifty project, and we’re quite happy with the results.
Out of the blue, a previous owner of our property, Ann, stopped by the day after Thanksgiving. She shared stories of her time at the farm, and took in how the place has changed in the many years since she lived here. Her family owned our barn and lived in our neighbor’s farmhouse. She followed up her visit with a letter to our neighbor, Chuck, and included photos of the farm from when she lived here. So very cool.
Throughout this whole endeavor, we have been collecting wooden chairs of all shapes and sizes. The plan was to paint them white and use the lot for our dining room chairs. My Aunt Marie, Uncle Tom and cousin Emma came to help, and one of the day’s projects was to paint some of the chairs. Emma took them outside and hosed them off, and photographed them as they dried.
Some detail shots of the place, taken by my very talented cousin, Emma.
Here’s what has been going on inside the barn since we’ve moved in.
Additional (again, overdue) photos of interior progress.
Here are some long overdue photos of progress that’s been made on the interior.
Big day.
Huge.
Billy’s buddy Chris King, who has been doing work at the barn with my Uncle Tom (TGWoodruff), texted these pictures to us to let us know that we have running water.
I never thought we’d be so excited to flush a toilet.
So last Saturday (3/24), we had a very productive day at the barn, largely due to the help of Billy’s buddy Mike, and my brother Tommy. Lots got done including a bit of paint, light installation, and so on; but the main project of the day were the floors.
Aside from the bathrooms, bedrooms and laundry room, all of the floors on the main level of the barn are either original or re-purposed barn wood (so that means kitchen, great room, front hall, office, game room, and hallway). So we rented a belt sander, had my father’s disc sander on loan, and went to work. Most of the floors have now been sanded; just one section of the great room is left to be done. I’m lame, and forgot to take photos of the sanded floors when we finished.
Then on Sunday Billy and I put a coat of a satin polyurethane on the kitchen floor. After work on Monday, Bill went back and applied coat number 2. And the photos above show that process (while the poly was still wet).
The wide (11″) boards that run from the front door to the barn doors will get wood fill in the gaps (Billy actually started that process tonight), before they get sealed. Hopefully I won’t forget to take some “before polyurethane” photos of the other floors.
Here are some photos of near-completed projects and rooms. Nothing is 100% done, so no photos show anything in a totally finished state. But it’s nice to see paint on the walls. It makes it feel less suitable for farm animals and more suitable for human (and canine) habitation.
Home Sweet Barn 