Deciding how you want to spend your time to benefit your own goals is the only way to build your home, handle your business and ultimately create the life you are dreaming of.

Where are we Now?
Our Forever Country Home is finally, after two years, coming together! We revealed our home to our closest friends in the fall with a campfire. Two long years of working on it are paying off. We didn’t just do a ton of work, we started a life. We had our first Christmas with our family. The people we have in our lives that we are able to share this with is what makes all the time and hard work worthwhile.

The house was cold and empty before. We killed ourselves getting all the details perfect. Picking out the right materials in paint color and wood accents is what brings in the warmth. It may not seem important, but all of the color tones coordinating together create a special feeling. The contrast of the dark distressed wood floors and bright white Benjamin Moore Super White painted walls and trim make the house feel old and cozy while still bright and brand new .

Rustic Wood Trim

The first thing we did to being in that Farmhouse feeling was by adding rustic wood to the kitchen seating counter. We found this wood at Lowes Home Improvement. It comes in a pre-packed box usually on the aisle. When designing the kitchen, everything was smooth and new and we needed a balance with something rough cut. The Modern Rustic Farmhouse style needs a balance of new, modern and rustic. This is where we decided to add it to the seating area. The cabinets came in unfinished on the back so we had to install something anyway. The grey tones blended with the grey stained lower cabinets and the walnut wood tones help coordinate the floating wood shelves.

We loved the accent wood so much we picked a different finish and also added it to under the pass-thru custom bar that faces the main room through the kitchen sink window. The rough cut wood make the spaces durable for living comfortably. We didn’t want to make our living space so nice that you can’t kick the wall occasionally on a barstool!

Adding some form of rustic wood throughout the home balances out the flow. We had previously purchased two woven leather barstools at a local going out of business sale for this exact space. Our goal was to create a contrast under the bar with a gray wood that would make our chairs pop. I love the feel of contrasting wood colors and finishes. It brings the warmth into spaces that create that homey feel. We both enjoy the feeling of being in an aged home. Even though everything is new it feels like its been there forever.

Michael used this L-shaped bracket he had on hand from past work to support the bar top. We prefer hidden brackets so this worked out well. You can’t see it from standing or sitting height. It is super sturdy. The two rustic wood accents are far enough apart that the different finishes work well. Each has its own personality and feel and they make the different spaces unique. We have the walnut color wood and the rustic grey wood balance throughout each. We purchased this one from Home Depot.

Craftsman Trim

We decided to add Craftsman trim to the new windows in the kitchen and living room areas. The ceilings are only 8 feet tall. The Craftsman wood trim around the door frames and windows bring height to a short ceiling. It draws the eyes upward.

It frames everything and adds an old world feel to the freshly painted white walls. After we added it there, we decided to continue it over the front door, viewing room and the on all the doorframes in the entire house.

Overall, a small architectural change and small addition really added so much to this ranch style home. Ranch houses are so rectangular in design and breaking this up changed the entire look and feel of the house. We are still in the process of picking out stone we are installing inside the front porch walls from floor to ceiling. The stone will continue along the underside of the entire house from front to back and sides. Note: Check out Front Porch Reveal later to see what we choose!

The Viewing Room

One addition with a huge impact to our space is a room we call “The Viewing Room.” This is located in the front where the old front porch originally was. The porch was tore out and we knocked out the front living room wall. We added a small nook style room to this area to extend the space and feel of the main living space. The roof is tied into the new front porch line. The roofline on the front of the house was a straight line across and now has a high peak over the front door entrance. That will soon be the front porch!

In construction, everything has to tie into each other, in some way. This is why each step requires thought and planning. You start to always think about the next step. How does what you are currently doing effect the next stage of the project? Do you need to add an outlet? Will that allow the dimensions you need? Will it all tie together?

There are so many things to consider, taking the time to work it all out saves you the chance of having to go back and tear out a finished project. We learned the hard way by going back to add a window, for instance, in the existing bathroom. After you are the one sanding sheetrock you will understand the time it takes to start over an area. Every step along the way takes so much time and work. Whenever you can plan ahead for the things you want to do, it can save yourself valuable time.

The Key is to Always be Moving Forward

Several people questioned the decision to add this nook room. Seemed like a lot of work for nothing! The thing is, little things can go along way. A small addition like this adds a special place of interest. It also gave the front of the house something unique and broke up the flat, straight line of the rancher style house. Then, it became the wall of the front porch and will add early afternoon shade. We are so happy we stuck with our plan! You can see the pure excitement below. 😉

We don’t have a foyer in this house and the viewing room opened up opportunity to have a pendant light or small chandelier option if we kept the ceiling high. It is a small area but what a difference the open ceiling area makes!

The roof-line has already at a peak so it was simple to create a peak ceiling. At night you can see the light it from the street as well. The light it is dimmable. Note: See Lighting for our Pendant Light!

When we installed the rustic wood under the bar top we ended up with some extra material. Accent material costs money and adds so much character so you hate to waste any at all! We installed the reminder on the inside wall of the viewing room. Nobody really sees it when they come in the house. After we put the bench seating in here, you will see it while sitting inside. It’s a small area and the custom bookshelf and rustic wood add a lot to a small space.

Little Details Create Interest

We also added a shelf under it for a place to put old collectibles. Michael wanted a shelf up high somewhere in the house for these things and here serves to be the opportunity. It’s a secret display shelf. Hey, he originally wanted the shelf in the main living room and this was a compromise. I hate to dust! I do love the personal feel it gives you. Nobody knows it’s there, but we do! Secret spaces are fun. When we do our bedroom addition I will remember this. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a secret room behind a bookcase?

When it came to the “Viewing Room” addition we were not sure about putting the full on Craftsman trim over the three windows. The Viewing Room entranceway has the Craftsman trim over it. We debated over how to frame these three windows. It felt like this room needed its own personality. We decided to box frame these windows in rather than put in the full on craftsmen trim. The box frame keeps it simple and adds to the “nook” style of this room. Then, at the last minute, we decided to install a built-in bookshelf. It created four small shelves where we have small books stored. When we add the sitting bench, all this will make more sense. It is all about thinking of the next step along the way. In the end, everything comes together!

While the walls are open don’t miss your opportunities!

The room has three new windows and we are building a sitting bench inside this room. It will serve as a sunroom to read or relax. It lets a lot of natural light in the house all morning. The bookshelf can store reading material. We placed an outlet purposefully up high to where it will be between the bench and windowsill for charging your phone. We also are adding extra storage inside the bench. You can never have enough storage!

The glory of building things yourself is you can get what you really want

You now can see out in every direction of the front yard. Before, you could not see well into the front. We also set up our Christmas Tree in here and it makes a great spot for presents and decorations, out of the way of the rest of the house. We are building the sitting bench to be removable for space to set the Christmas tree each year. Here is our first Christmas set up. It is the perfect size room for a tree!

The only problem I have now is the dog’s beds and food bowls are in the viewing room. One mistake we made is not designing specific places to put the dog food bowls and also beds. In the kitchen, if I could go back I would have factored this in maybe. I don’t believe they are without, they are pretty spoiled! However, We did install a doggy door on the screened porch. It helps protect our screened door from abuse and I get tired of being the door woman for the dogs! They come and go as they please out there and love it! Note: See Screened Porch Reveal for the Doggy Door we choose!

Designing for Function

Carrying all the same themes throughout the entire house creates a natural flow. Continuing the same style trim and hardware do this, but, lighting is EVERYTHING! I can’t help it, but lighting makes such a difference. The low yellow lights create a soft relaxing feel while the bright crystal lighting brightens up the mood for entertaining. Recess lighting brightens up the entire space when needed like for cleaning or assembling something. The pendant lights create a focal point at the counters and sitting areas. Having dimmable options allow you to adjust where you want to have the focal point. We put dimmable switches on almost all of our lights. Depending on where we are gathering we have many different lighting options. Note: See Lighting

Sitting Area Vs. Kitchen Table

Having various seating options serves many purposes like making entertaining easier. We opted to not have a kitchen table. I know, I know! Although I do miss decorating a table what I like more is the comfortable seating options. When you have 10+ people at a gathering having different focal points around the living space help spread out the crowd and each space has its own appeal. Plus, we often sat at our old kitchen table for hours working and discussing things and dining room chairs simply are never comfortable. We set up two West Elm velvet swivel chairs around an accent table beside the back double window to make this our conversation space. I call it my morning spot for working outside the office when I can.

The house faces east and in the morning there is no direct light in this sitting area. We added window treatments from Blindser for this window and matched the kitchen window to it. We went with a natural material in bamboo and choose the top-down-bottom-up style. It is a game changer! You can adjust the shades to block light different times of the day and still let light in or block light and have a view as well. Its a nice modern touch with a warm wood accent. Note: See Window Treatments for all our our window covering choices!

When deciding on what furniture we chose I spent numerous times measuring walls and areas. I did this several times as it is so important to make sure things fit well and allow extra room. This is not a large house and putting appropriate sized furniture was a must. We opted for a larger scale chase lounge sofa to balance out the entertainment wall unit and allow multiple seating spaces. The sofa is made by Lane.

We designed our home for being empty nesters and growing old. The goal was to make all the spaces modern, attractive, and versatile. We wanted it to look nice as well as be sturdy to allow the dogs and grandchildren to run and play. This is why when picking out our hardwood flooring from LL Flooring. We decided on a dark distressed finish that could hide any possible scratches. The style goes along nicely with the farmhouse feel and it especially added character to the kitchen. (See Flooring for more information on the Hardwoods and how to choose flooring).

Adding Storage

Being functional was a must for this house really had no storage. There is no hall closet or linen closet. To suppliment storage we installed upper cabinets in the laundry room over the washer and dryer. We bought these locally and went with the same shaker front style in bright white as we did in the kitchen. In addition, we put a pantry style cabinet in there for linens and extras. This supplements for the lack of a linen closet. The deep pantry cabinet holds so much, I used to have a linen closet and this cabinet stores three times as much as it did.

We found a butcher block at our local Home Depot store and installed it over the washer and dryer to have a folding space. It is a small room and this helps out a ton! The piece we cut off is used in the kitchen as a cutting board and canning cooler. We still have some minor things to finish as you see. For now the cabinets store all our laundry supples, medicine and first aid, extra cleaning supplies, etc. The tall pantry cabinet holds all of our linens and things like light bulbs.

We are gradually installing wood shelves throughout the house to add to the farmhouse feel and give additional storage. We opted to have a wall unit in the living room with shelves and drawers for games, blankets and other things to be stored. We made sure our bathroom vanities offered closed in cabinets as well.

Design based on what you have and create spaces to store it all. You will be thankful you did!

We wanted a clean slate for changing color schemes and holiday decorating. Keeping the house in neutral tones of white, grey, and black hardware did this. I wanted a touch of farmhouse. We both wanted a rustic finish here and there. I also gravitate toward modern so Modern Rustic Farmhouse became our theme. I see people sometimes have a hard time making a style decision and what I say is start picking out what you like. As you go you will see your style come to life. More than likely, it will fall into a category somewhere if you need it to!

Just don’t forget…

Do What You Love

Moving The Wall

Lastly, the best project was the kitchen design. I do love the open concept! It has been so popular and pretty for so long. (Note: See Kitchen Reveal for How We Designed Our Kitchen). However, the design of the new kitchen drove the need to knock down the center wall. We knocked the wall out and had the complete option to build an open concept. We even taped off a couple layouts on the floor with blue tape to visualize it. In discussing the kitchen layout the things that were important to both of us began to be obvious. I adore the exposed hood wall and counter to ceiling tile! Without the wall there wasn’t a great area to have this. We also wanted more living room space. This area was always too small. In order to accommodate our needs we had to knock down the existing center wall and move it!

To determine where to move the wall we HAD to pick the kitchen layout! The pressure was on. I was headset at first to have a freestanding counter. Since we were not doing a kitchen table it seemed necessary. However, as we began looking at cabinets and measuring, a peninsula became more functional for our space.

The design we chose wraps around the room in a ‘G’ shape with a peninsula. We have a refrigerator and microwave wall opposite the peninsula that you can see coming in from the living room. We layed the cabinets out to have a prep area opposite the peninsula and a coffee station in the corner. The design called for two lower corner units and we opted for having a lazy Susan in each one. For the upper cabinets we decided on no corner cabinet and putting custom wood shelving in to match the exposed wood shelving on the hood wall.

Do What You Love

Picking out your needs out in the beginning will help you make major decisions in your remodel. We wanted a comfortable yet functional space to live in for many years to come. For instance, we have had game night at the accent table with added stools from the kitchen and it works out great! We planned the screened porch to have no steps out to it. It created a little additional work but it acts as additional every day living space. It is where we spend most of our free time now. We also wanted most of the physically challenging projects to last for years to come, as we aren’t getting any younger!

Regardless of the styles you choose and materials you pick the main goal of your remodel is to choose things that bring you joy. To me, happiness is found in surrounding yourself by beautiful things. If green kitchen cabinets are your favorite, do that. If you like light knotty wood floors, do that. The main purpose is to create a space you thrive in and enjoy sharing with others.

For More details on Specific Projects

See Kitchen Reveal for more info on Colors, Materials, Cabinets and Appliances and things we found that inspired my design and where we found them!

See Benjamin Moore Super White for paint ideas and more!

See Flooring for our hardwood and tile choices!

See Lighting for Pendant lights, Ceiling Lights & Ceiling Fans!

Shop all of the products we put in our Forever Country Home in furniture, decor & some materials we used. Plus, products we can’t live without. I will also be adding our favorite homesteading products as we go!

For all featured products and sales on products we are loving see Rainy Day Deals on the homepage. Here is where I update weekly with products we find, use and special sales on many things for your home, yard, garden and decor. There will always be garden and kitchen things!

Making it All Worthwhile

Once we got started on this project ideas started flowing. When you wrap your mind around the project and the possibilities it starts to get fun! If you have endless time and money you might decide to do way more than we did. We made logical choices that upgraded the house based on our budget. I seem to remember a lot of things I suggested we could do and so did Michael. In the end, we weighed out the costs involved, the skills it would take, and the time. We are not afraid of figuring out how to do something we don’t know how to do! But, you have to be reasonable in your choices. There is always room for error, but figuring out how to do it right the first time is crucial.

We had some help for several projects, especially in the beginning. Even it you think you can do it all yourself, reality is that you need those extra hands. There were a few things that we decided to contract out for warranty purposes. Also, for the sheer nature of skills needed to install. Siding, gutters and hardwood flooring are the ones we decided for the amount of money that we were putting in it that the warranty would be well worth it. We don’t regret hiring, but keep in mind other people may not have the attention to detail you do! If will be in your best interest to watch the installs. We had to have some work changed due to mistakes. Not a big deal, it was changed and we are happy with the results. Most of the time if you just ask people will see the problem and fix it.

You are paying for it so don’t be shy!

We also hired a friend to build the screened porch frame and work on the front porch roof frame. It looks great! We are finishing the stain and inside wall now of the screened porch and then will be adding tile. Note: Check back soon for the Screened Porch Reveal. It is my favorite place to be!

A lot of projects present obstacles you have to overcome when you DIY a house rebuild! Some can be costly so avoiding any of this is your best bet. You want to make sure you don’t break the budget or catch yourself in a place where you can’t finish something. What you do want to do is have fun with it! Work is simply exhausting, but the results make it all worthwhile.

When you begin to enjoy the results of your hard work it becomes clear it was all worth your sacrifices. Thats what it takes, really, is a lot of hard work and sacrifice to dedicate this much of your life and time to a rebuild and remodel. The point is you want to be creating something you love. We are designing the house for our needs and what we know we will enjoy for years to come.

If you are considering starting a remodel yourself all I gotta say is ready, set, go! What are you waiting for? I can’t wait to see what you do! There are so many things we wished we could have done. Ultimately, you have to make decisions and finalize every little detail.

Pull the Trigger! Not everything you are picking is a life changing choice

If you take the pressure off of yourself and trust in your own judgements you will see it start to come together. Bringing it all to life is the goal! Once you start to see it come to life you will be addicted like we are! We can barely get done with what we are working on to want to start our next project! But, finishing the project first is how you move forward. Admiring our work as we go is just a common occurrence. That’s what its all about! Starting is the first step in your journey. My journey is already taking me places I have never imagined going. I can’t wait to see where else it takes me.

Don’t ever think that the journey is over. You just have to find the courage to take it. Life presents itself often at unexpected times. Sometimes it’s best to not look the other way.

We will be adding more posts and updates on all the projects we have finished, projects we have started, and future project ideas. There are so many products we researched that I will tell you about and what helped make our decisions and why we choose them. What we were really pleased with and a few we may have done differently. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to be onboard with this rebuild. However, I am so glad I signed up!

Check back in to Forever Country Home soon, I can’t wait to reveal the Screened Porch and Best of All, the New Kitchen! Thee have been the most time consuming, but they are both almost finished.

Feel free to follow our daily garden, yard, tools we love and home decor projects on Instagram. Pinterest offers a few more gadgets and home products, too. (Links are at the bottom of the page).

I hope there have been some helpful tips and/or ideas should you be on the hunt as I was throughout our project. Starting a remodel can feel very overwhelming at first, Once you get going and begin to see the finished product, you will see why you are there.

We hope you enjoy your journey, whatever it may be, as much as we are!

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