This is the first of many posts about the new Hobby Homestead Project!  In the beginning of July 2013 we closed on a home on over 6 acres!   We are extremely excited!  I’ll give you the short and sweet of our process…

We moved from a home in a typical subdivision with an HOA on .3 acres to a home without an HOA on over 6 acres.  I am referring to it as our Hobby Homestead Project.  I’m not sure we’ll have more than chickens on our property but I can’t say for sure where this project will end up.  We purchased a home that was in the process of being built and then went through foreclosure.  I has been sitting unfinished for several years.  Luckily, it was well-built and left “dried in” which essentially means the home has windows and a roof so it is protected from the elements.  We had been searching for a home on acreage on a modest budget for almost a year when we finally found it.  We’ve been blessed with the ability to live in my in-law’s home while they are working abroad during that time.  The downside of that is we have been living with most of our belongings in boxes for this entire time.  My in-laws have a fully furnished home so our stuff is packed in with their stuff.  This is a little stressful for a mildly OCD person….I like to call myself “organized”.  

I heard about the home on a Friday night when my husband was out of town helping his brother and sister in-law pack to move from the West Coast to the East Coast.  I put the kids in the van a headed over to look at the house first thing Saturday morning.  I pulled in a very rustic overgrown driveway to find a very unfinished home.  The minute I walked in the front door I got excited.  I think my mouth was hanging open the whole time I toured the home.  I ended my tour in the basement where I received a call from the seller telling me how much they would like for the home.  Even at full price the home was within reach.  I dropped to my knees with tears in my eyes.  My 5 year old twin daughters asked, “Mommy, why are you sad?”  I explained to them that I was really happy because we had found a home that was perfect for us.  Could we be nearing the end of a long emotional road?  

The seller told me they planned to start construction to finish the home on Monday and need to know that day what our intentions were.  I called my husband in California to tell him about the house.  Thank goodness for my Iphone!  I sent him pictures and gave him a video tour.  He told me that if I thought it was right then go for it.  We were under contract by Monday and two months later we owned it!  

We plan to finish the home in a Craftman style.  We’ve spent plenty of time on Houzz looking at photos and saving them to our ideabook and Pinterest of course!  The home has plenty of space but the layout isn’t quite right for the way we live our lives.  Thankfully, since the home wasn’t finished beyond framing, we only have to move some framed walls around to make it work—no mechanical, plumbing or electrical to move!  We enlisted the help of a local architect to draw up the new plans.  We made some pretty significant changes.  This is the end result of the first floor design including the digital rendering of the kitchen.  Can you see me whipping up some fantastic REAL FOOD recipes here?  My favorite part is the kitchen of course.  I wanted a really fancy range like this (click here) but instead I’m going for this one (here).  Space and price were deciding factors.  I love the cased openings you can see in the middle picture below and lead to the stairs and pantry.  We found an interesting piece of furniture we will be using in the pantry area on the back wall of the house. 

The second floor is pretty close to done as well with some minor dormer design details to be worked out (this is where the Structural Engineer comes in).  The exterior elevation is pretty close as well—a couple minor siding pattern tweaks.  

Follow my board about this project on Pinterest!  In an effort to save money and get the look we want, we have the following DIY Project List:

I’ve been shopping at Habitat for Humanity, salvage yards, and antique shops looking for unique items that might help us achieve our objectives.  This is what I’ve found so far:

From left to right: pantry furniture piece $60, possible powder room vanity $25, basement bathroom vanity with top and sink $300, and old camera tripod to be made into a lamp $15.  I think I did pretty well!

We have other project lists as well.  Below is our list:

 The zip line is modeled after the awesome zip line for kids from the parks from our recent trip to England.  Campsite in the woods?  Why not?  We all love to swim but don’t want the expense or maintenance of an in ground pool so an above ground saltwater pool is perfect!  How awesome is it going to be to have our own hiking trail?  A fire pit is a must.  I can’t wait to cook over it!

Then of course we have the Hobby Homestead List of projects…

 Since we eat about 6 dozen eggs a week we NEED some chickens!  Hydroponic gardening is my husband’s project.  I’ve admitted to myself recently that I am just not cut out for gardening.  Know thyself, right?  Solar power is a future project.  It might take us a while to get to that.  Rain barrels we have mastered as well as composting and I can’t wait to get set up!  Keep following me by subscribing to my blog to get the latest and like me on Facebook!