After nearly 4 years of work, I am super excited to finally share our kitchen! If you love Cinderella stories this particular part of our farmhouse restoration will tug at your heart. We are passionate about saving our 1800s farm one DIY project at a time. To us, preserving the heritage of America is something worth fighting for…
The Before
This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought the farm. It had touches of the 1950s, 70s, and 80s. From the foam ceiling tiles and giant fan, down to the 7 layers of linoleum, this little 9×14 kitchen was oozing with “personality!” We thought about restoring the metal cabinets, but they were so rusted that a few doors came off when we tried to open them. The layout was probably the weirdest thing. With 3 doors (one to a full bath, one to the dining room, and one to the outdoors) there didn’t seem to be room for standard appliances. Plus there was absolutely no sign of the original 1893 kitchen and that was really the direction we wanted to go. So the day after we signed the papers for the farm in late May of 2014 we began to gut this kitchen…
We stripped back all the layers and found original window and doorways and a stove chimney. We felt like archeologists discovering the story of this farmhouse buried deep beneath over 100 years of trendy remodels. As we excavated we found that this was not going to be the easy restoration we had hoped for. The mold, terminate damage, and rott were threatening the very structure of our home. So instead of the 6-10 week cosmetic update we naively thought it would take, our family began the process of completely restoring the farmhouse little by little. We had to stop working on the kitchen and save the structural integrity of the farmhouse first. So we blocked off the gutted first floor, lived in the upstairs of the farmhouse, and became hot plate, grill, and microwave culinary experts.
During the process of repairing the structural damage we decided to move the kitchen to the large bedroom off the living room. This centralized the kitchen and gave us the opportunity to have a more functional kitchen layout with cabinet doors that didn’t hit the fridge when you opened them, for example. Meanwhile, the tiny old kitchen and its adjoining bathroom would become our master suite on the main floor (That’s our next project). It just didn’t feel right having a bathroom off the kitchen and no bathroom near our bedroom. This also allowed us to enlarge the doorway to the stairs and make it a feature of the kitchen. If you have ever watched the movie Sarah, Plain and Tall, I always loved how the kids came down the kitchen stairs to be greeted by breakfast in the morning. Now the layout of the farmhouse was starting to make more sense for our family, but that didn’t mean we wanted to erase the story of the original family who built the farmhouse 125 years ago.
So we carefully saved every last original detail we could and after the structural repairs were done we meticulously reinstated every bit of millwork. We kept and restored all of the original windows, restored the original wood siding hidden under the hideous vinyl, and made sure that any new additions to the farmhouse were respectful of the late 1800s to early 1900s. Our goal has always been to make our home both a place for our family to flourish, while also honoring those who built our nation into what it is today! Restoration is about securing your future without forgetting your past. One of my biggest inspirations for my kitchen design was Laura Ingalls Wilder’s perfectly preserved kitchen at Rocky Ridge Farm. I hope you feel that we have done the original family of Bryarton Farm proud in our work. Here is what our kitchen looks like today March 2018…
The After
We researched and carefully selected, handmade, or were given every piece that collectively created this classic farmhouse kitchen. It would be easy for a new friend to look at our kitchen and not see the blood, sweat, and tears we poured into the project. I want to encourage anyone feeling overwhelmed or discouraged about their kitchen situation. The truth is a beautiful kitchen doesn’t happen over night or in a 45 min HGTV special. Real homes and families have to sacrifice and work hard to bring there dreams to reality little by little.
Living in only half of our farmhouse, without a stove or running water downstairs have all been things our family endured for years, but it was worth the trouble. Now we are reaping the rewards of our labor! As Dave Ramsey says, “You have to be willing to live like no one else, so that someday you can live like no one else!”
Because we stayed true to the Folk Victorian architectural soul of this home everything feels like it belongs. From the folk style stair rail my husband built from scratch to match the existing railing upstairs, to the walk-in pantry under the stairs, every aspect mattered to us. Now our girls can throw up their heels chasing one of their chickens around our spacious (nearly finished) downstairs. They can give their puppy a bath in a fully functional and period appropriate farm sink. We were careful with our budget and careful with our imprint on this farm. This farmhouse is now strong enough to stand for another 125 years because we saw the value in saving her and we fought to do it despite insane obstacles.
If you have been following our story on Instagram, YouTube, or this blog for long you know this was a labor of love for our family. We choose to openly share our journey to hopefully inspire you to follow your dreams too! If a pair of totally novice country kids living on a tight budget can turn this farmhouse’s story around, you can too! This kitchen is proof that with the Lord by your side All things are possible! {Phillipians 4:13}
One of my favorite quotes from Erin and Ben Napier the hosts of the home restoration show Home Town is, “You don’t have to be an expert to save your town, you just have to get up and do it!” We are living proof of this. We care enough about preserving the farm to teach ourselves new skills, work hard, and get it done. America was built on the backs of humble farmers like the White family who: started this farm in 1878, built the farmhouse in 1893, and built the barn in 1900. This pioneer farmstead and thousands like it are the heritage of America and we want to show families that they can and should invest in an authentic farmstead. The original farms are something we care deeply about preserving for future generations. But we are also deeply invested in this project because this is where we want to raise our family. This is our home.
If you want so know the whole kitchen story from the beginning and get a more in-depth account of the work it took to transform our kitchen little by little, here are all the posts I wrote on the subject oldest to newest:
Demo Days The kitchen Saga Continues
Why We Still don’t Have a Kitchen
Farmhouse Restoration – Structural Repairs & Openings
Comin’ Along – The Heartbreak & Hope Found in our Journey
Farmhouse Restoration Update – Spring on the Farm
Antique Farm Sink Makeover – Budget Style
Bryarton Farm Q&A Live Chat Recording
If you are enjoying following our continuing story and want to see more, please Subscribe! You can also see additional pictures of our little fixer upper farm on the prairie, by following us on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, & Pinterest. Help support our “forgotten farm restoration project” by visiting our Etsy Shop!
Please join the conversation by leaving a comment below…
Amazing! You’ve done an awesome job and it’s beautiful!
Thank you Carol. We really appreciate your encouragement! As you can probably tell, this whole farm restoration is a labor of love.
This is just beautiful!! I’m always so inspired when I see your posts!
It is always wonderful to see such amazing transformations and to know how the Lord has grown your family spiritually along the way is even more beautiful.
What a huge project and a testimony to all your hard work and creativity in making this in to your dream farmhouse.
Thank you Debbie. I do think we can appreciate our kitchen more because we worked so hard and waited so long for this moment. After 4 years without a kitchen I feel like I must be dreaming when I walk down those stairs into my kitchen in the morning…
Fixer Uppers don’t happen in one episode like they do on HGTV. So true. It’s a journey and along the way you learn so much!
Yes, that’s something I know you are dealing with in your own fixer upper right now. I hope this post gave you some encouragement. Know that someday your home will be just right and it’s the journey to that point which makes you appreciate the outcome fully. Hang in there, Rae!
Absolutely beautiful! You can see all the hard work you both put into it. Your home is one special place for your girls to grow up. God Bless.
Thank You Sweet Lyn! I hope my girls will agree with you on that when they look back on there childhood here on Bryarton Farm.
Just beautiful.!! I love to read your stories.
Thank you for stopping by the blog and taking the time to send us a little encouragement. God Bless
It is just BEAUTIFUL!!! Beyond that I have no other words. LOVE~!!!!
Haha Wow! Well, thanks sweet girl for being there to cheer us on for nearly this entire journey! XOXO
I have recently discovered your IG and blog. What an unexpected and wonderful gift to my life. Your story and your journey is delightfully authentic and relatable. I have combed over your pics and been inspired to tackle projects in my own home. Continue to be who you are and live the life that is best for you! I just love it!! God bless you abundantly!!
This is such a beautiful comment! I got a little choked up… Thank you for letting us know how we have affected and inspired you. God Bless
Your kitchen is just adorable!! It should be in a magazine!! I love every little bit of it. xoxo
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog and leave an encouraging comment. Your kind words mean a lot!
I am new to your instagram and blog, but am already mesmerized by not only the beauty of your home, but the story and hard work behind it. Your’e so inspiring! Looking forward to following along!
So glad to have you join the Bryarton Farm Family! Welcome sweet new friend!
What a delightful morning I have had getting to know your family and read your journey. I am updating my kitchen, sadly not from the 1800’s, but nonetheless it’s being updated. I am wondering … you counters look like butcher block. If so, what do you think of them. Next, I am fixin’ to bid on a vintage sink (1940-1950) on EBAY and am wondering how your sink is holding up. I have restored three 100+ year old homes. I know firsthand it’s not for the faint of heart! May God continue to bless your efforts!
Thank you for stopping by the blog Angela. The counter tops are not butcher block but large slabs of hickory. we love them so much! You can see a bit of how my husband made them by reading this post – https://www.bryartonfarm.com/2018/01/kitchen-update-implementing-authentic-farmhouse-design/
P.S. Yes we love our authentic farm sink very much! Staying true to the soul of our home and restoring it back to it’s original glory is our goal, so implementing authentic period appropriate pieces was key to our success. We decided to gently restore the sink. Keeping the scratches and chips while concentrating our efforts on removing the stains. You can read all about the sink refresh here – https://www.bryartonfarm.com/2017/04/antique-farm-sink-makeover-tips-for-restoring-an-old-sink-on-a-budget/
Well I love what you’ve done with your farm! And I was just wondering is that a gas range that you have? Doesn’t look like kerosene? And what does the inside of your pantry look like just shelving or? And I was wondering if you had a home inspection done before you bought the place or just decided to deal with whatever came with the
Well I love what you’ve done with your farm! And I was just wondering is that a gas range that you have? Doesn’t look like kerosene? And what does the inside of your pantry look like just shelving or? And I was wondering if you had a home inspection done before you bought the place or just decided to deal with whatever came with the house?
We did have a home inspection done before we got bought the house, but we were out of town and were not able to be there for the inspection. In some ways, I regret this because we obviously have had many surprises. However, having spent these years here restoring the farmhouse and property, I can see that even with the things that were lacking or broken, that this house was worth buying and certainly worth saving. We are on propane gas out here.
Hello, another question about the stove.. where do you find old working stoves like this. I am buying a 1920 house in Georgia, the kitchen was gutted. Like you I will be moving it so Otis more functional. I want to be a little modern and a lot period design for the home. Would love an older stove that works. Thanks for any help.
Your family’s journey and your home are beautiful!
Craig’s List, Facebook Marketplace, and Salvage yards would be your best bet
I love your white frig. Can you tell me what make and model it is?
It’s a ge from Home Depot but this model has been discontinued
Hello! Your farmhouse is my favorite to look at on IG. I love how authentic everything looks. My husband and I are remodeling our kitchen right now and i have looked everywhere for light fixtures like the ones that are in your kitchen. Can you please tell me where you got them? Wasnt sure if they were true antiques or reproductions. Thank you so much.
They are authentic antic lights so unfortunately I cannot give you a source.
Where did you find the light over the spice shelf?
Antique shop
Our house is only 40 years old, but we went out of town and the kitchen flooded from an upstairs leak. Total loss and insurance denied our claim. Even so, we have to take the whole kitchen out. It’s bittersweet. It’s old but it worked. We didn’t plan on this, but while we’re at it, we’ll make it exactly how we want. We’ll do the work ourselves. We’re not scared. We’ve been through worse and we serve a big God. So we know it’ll be fine. I’m so inspired by the beauty of your house, I sent it to my husband and told him we have to use it as a guide as we redo everything. THANK YOU!! Carmen (Palm harbor, FL)
I love your farmhouse-styled kitchen. BTW, A lot of efforts seem to be done by you! I appreciate!
The kitchen represents your hard work! Keep sharing and keep updating about new changes too!
What an amazing transformation!! You’re house is beautiful!! My favorite part is the vintage stove (and the chickens.lol). My wife and I love the teal-ish color on the stairs and that door in the kitchen. Could you please tell us what paint and shade you used? We’re thinking about painting our cabinets that color. Thanks!
I’m sorry nearly all the paint colors in my home I custom made myself to save money. I have an art degree so I understand the color wheel really well, but anyone can do what I do. I simply squirt various craft paints into a bucket old leftover white trim paint and mix until I get a color I like. Give it a try!
Thanks for sharing each and every detail of your kitchen transformation! Keep updating!
Superb! I love your courage and perseverance on all fronts!
One observation, don’t mean it to be negative in any sense. Your comment struck a chord for me “ America was built on the backs of humble farmers like…” Let’s not also forget America was built on the back of slaves who lived in bondage and fear for hundreds of years including the modern slavery of our day. Such is the world and history. But you make the world better. Wishing you all the best you and yours.
Our farmhouse was built in 1893 long after slavery was abolished. So No slaves were involved in the making of America during the era that Bryarton Farm was built. Since, we live in Kansas there actually never were slaves in this part of America. Sadly, it’s true that All cultures are full of pain and suffering because we live in a fallen world that desperately needs God. If your house was built by slaves you can still appreciate the craftsmanship and seek to preserve it, but our farm was built by humble farmers during a time in American history when slavery was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, as you mentioned because of the internet there are now more slaves in the world than ever before in human history. Since 70% of all human trafficking victims are female we chose to adopt two little girls from India. It’s not enough to know that slavery is wrong and that it still exists. We all must find ways to actively fight slavery. World history is full of humble farmers like the immigrants that built our farm and it’s also full of evil men. The point is what part should we celebrate? We choose to celebrate the good and activly fight the evil.
Hello from France lovely story and your rénovation is super nice and inspiring . Thank you for sharing and a Big HUG to your beautiful girls !
Your home is amazing! What did you use for flooring? My husband and I are remodeling and restoring a 1920’s home, and I would like to put wood flooring in to keep the farmhouse creaky floor feel.
Our floors are the original floors from 1893 and I wouldn’t want it any other way. We bought a historic home for the authentic historic charm that money can’t buy. We carefully took up each original floor board to address the termite damage and then laid them back down and we never sanded them. Every scratch and dent tells a story of 130+ years of love.