We are in good spirits here at the farm, despite the entire world around us having been tipped on it's head with the COVID-19 virus. Whilst some of our bigger plans for the land may be postponed for now, we've been making some small but exciting tweaks inside the house. Come on in and we'll show you what we've been getting up to.
If you have read our last update Homestead Update: Big Things Often Have Small Beginnings you'll know we are converting our home into a farmhouse. Structurally there is absolutely nothing wrong with our home. Being that it was only built in 2001 the changes we are wanting to make are purely aesthetic. Sure, we'll be knocking out some walls, ripping out windows and tearing out the bathroom but it's all for good fun!
We have been sourcing the majority of our materials, whether it be building materials, home decor, farmhouse knick knacks or furniture from flea markets, vintage farmhouse stores, demolition centres and of course Facebook Market Place and Gumtree. If you know what you are looking for, buying second hand is an awesome way to source out quality without the price tag. Unfortunately the quality of items made in our modern world are simply not made to last.
Doors seem to be the main theme for us at the moment. Originally the house had doors which were made from cheap lightweight materials (honeycomb doors). We are in the midst of replacing all of the bedroom, bathroom, laundry and garage doors with old barn doors. Each door we have found is unique and has been individually sourced and cut down to size (very rarely do they fit perfectly). We have given some of the doors a fresh coat of paint and others we have simply left exactly as we found them- worn and rugged (just like this one below). We absolutely love the patina on this one.
This 100 year old door was originally the laundry door from an old traditional Queenslander. When the home was heritage listed and relocated the laundry didn't go with the house and is now one of our favourite features in our home.
We have also managed to find these beautiful New Old Stock (NOS) hinge sets which finished off the doors perfectly. We have a unique set for each door as you'll see in the images, along with old fashion locks and handles.
This door was a little gem. We picked it up for just $50. We had originally planned on stripping back the thick black paint on the back of the door to match the white double z-brace barn door front. However, once we started striping it we uncovered a multitude of wonderful colours from it's past lives which we decided to keep.
These doors have so much character and history, something you simply can not recreate from new materials plus we've been able to do it for a fraction of the price.
We also have a couple of DIY shabby chic projects under way. Painting old pieces of furniture is a great way to give your home a new lease of life. This piece was originally very dark and has been completely transformed simply by splashing it with a coat of white paint and sanding it back to create a distressed appearance. This can be done with all sorts of wooden furniture and in all sorts of funky colours.
The kitchen is another area we've been working on. One day we would love to rip out all the shiny white cabinet doors (ick) and replace them with something more in-keeping with our farmhouse style. One-thing-at-a-time!
We sourced out this old painters ladder for just $22 and re-purposed it into a hanging pot rack. We kept it exactly as it was, covered in paint splatters which goes so well with our rustic farmhouse vibe. It's a fantastic space saver and a great feature too. We are yet to add fairy lights and it will be a great place to hang our herbs for drying.
Although the kitchen is incredibly open and spacious being the health foodies that we are bench space is something you can never have enough of. More bench space, means more delicious food right!?
This piece was actually a beautiful old side board we bought second hand (of course) which we have used as a kitchen island instead. This gives us plenty of extra bench space and extra storage. We screwed in a couple of tea towel racks on the back and ta-dah, bob's your uncle!
We have also had a new spacious pantry area built with another big sliding barn door. We'll reveal that in another post when we talk about our pantry staples and how we use them.
Well, that's all for now guys. If there is anything you want to here from us please let us know in the comments or contact us here with your questions.
Sending love & light to you all at this difficult time
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