This Dilapidated Farmhouse, Part 7

I'm sorry for the extremely long delay between my posts.  My online classes took a lot more of my internet limit than what I ever could have imagined and I had to wait for a renewal period to increase that limit (and let me tell you, you do not want to go over than limit!  Just a few itty bittyextra bites can make Sprint take an extra $300 bite out of your wallet)!

So, I'm set up and back online.  In the meantime I've gotten a lot done around the farm and have a lot of pictures to share, but right now I want to focus some attention on my old farmhouse because that's what is really on my mind right now.  My plans up until now have been somewhat sketchy.  The only certainties have been the addition of a second bath upstairs, the creation of a walk-though closet for the master bedroom, and official completion of the entire roof (including the underhang and new guttering installed).

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to find the exact windows I need for my house on clearance in Wichita, so I made a quick trip to the "big" city and purchased all the ones I needed, except for the two larger windows for the south side of the first floor, which I want bigger windows for.

The next step is to renovate the front porch.  Although any work will be an improvement over the existing porch, I've been struggling to figure out how best to rebuild the front porch to match the ongoing changes to the exterior.  I want and need to keep the existing charm of a 19th century farmhouse while making the most out of all the modern options I have.  

Back in the day, they had the front porch on this house because it made for a cooler place to sleep during the brutally hot nights of summer.  Now days, thankfully we have air conditioning, so this porch is more decorative than utilitarian.  I had the option of removing it completely and installing large columns, but I didn't feel that it went with the farmhouse feel that prefer over the look of an "estate."  

For a while I've had the idea of extending all but the roof part all the way across the house, but it's been hard to explain and even harder to visualize, until yesterday....

...when we found a house that had the exact porch I had in mind!  I know it's hard to see (trees obscured the front view), but this is exactly the porch I'd like for my house.  I can't wait for the renovation to get started now that I have a firm plan set in place!

In talking with my dad, he told me he had always wanted to put a screened-in porch on the south side of the house and asked me if I would like the same.  I agreed that it would really help extend the limited living space on the first floor and, as a bonus, it would allow me to install french doors in what will be the living room, opening out onto the porch, which will really allow the air to flow through the house on nice days.  The porch will look something like this, without the railing on the roof and it won't be as far off the ground.

The porch will serve as additional living space, so eventually (actually fairly far off in the future since this renovation will cost so much), I will put something similar to this in there.

I can just imaging relaxing here with a good book and a glass of mint iced tea on a mild summer day.

In the living room (which used to be the dining room), I plan on installing tile (since it will be such a high-traffic area) with a large area rug and a sectional sofa similar to this one:

The trim throughout the house will most likely be white, but the color scheme for the living room will be derived from this painting:

I hope to get a large copy of this painting ("Whistlejacket" by George Stubbs) one day.  I love decorating and I can't wait to get to that stage of the process.

For now, though, we're in the the midst of demolition and rebuilding and every day the place gets just one step closer to being the home of my dreams.  I can't wait!

Paint can wishes and drywall dreams,

~J