When we stumbled upon this 1860-built house just 18 months ago, it felt like too much space for us. Yet, from the moment it became ours, the ideas started flowing. I’m so glad we didn't settle for an 800-square-foot cabin as our forever home. Yes, building our own house would have been special, allowing us to choose features and materials, but we wouldn’t have been able to live out our dreams as quickly as we are now. Side note- we actually didn't have a choice! While house and land hunting, this was the ONLY property with land to farm (and good soil), in our budget. We didn't have a choice, yet it was what we would have chosen if given many choices.
"This will be the all-purpose/dining and yoga room," I joked upon seeing the deck-turned-three-season-room. Now, just a year into living here, that joke has become a reality.
David took on a massive project: removing and replacing seven windows, fixing rotted floors, painting walls, draping burlap as a new ceiling, ordering and installing pine flooring, and more. After sanding, vacuuming, and applying multiple coats of whey-based poly (we try hard to keep extra chemicals from our home), our yoga room was complete.
We held our first homeschool family yoga class with kids and moms, which taught us we needed a coat room, a place for mats, and storage for blankets and bolsters. Before I knew it, we were moving the washing machine and pantry items into the attic, painting the walls and floor and creating a unique new space in our home. With the washroom on the brink of receiving its third coat of paint, my excitement to decorate keeps me up at night.
Needing a yoga studio "entrance" was just an excuse to get us to redo the laundry room, which was already a project on our list. It will force me to keep it tidy as well since it was a pantry/laundry and dumping grounds for everything that came into the house.
We are not new to finishing projects in record time. Our upstairs, which once seemed like too many rooms for us, is now our Farm-Stay/Airbnb space. Boasting it's own private entrance and already blocked off from the downstairs where we live, the second floor was made to be part of our vision to host Farm Stays. David buckled down and spent all of last winter, upon moving in, creating the Suite. Pulling up vinyl flooring revealed original 1860s wood flooring, giving us the idea to restore them. Tiling the bathroom, giving the old shower a makeover, painting the walls and decorating with mostly thrifted, used or left-in-the-house furniture, made the space come together.
One garage is David's workshop, the extra garage has become our "barn" for farm equipment and a greenhouse for seed starting was already in place from the last owners. When I say this house was made for us, I’m not kidding. Every room, nook, and cranny has a purpose for our life and future dreams.
We invite everyone to check us out for a class, workshop or tour as the year goes on. Help us spread the word for future events or farm-stays by sharing with your friends. The most magical thing we offer is vacation-retreats. Farm and Yoga daily with organic meals and so much more. Check out more information on the yoga info page here.
Thanks for following along!
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