Our little 1920s fixer upper farmhouse is nestled back on 2.5 acres in the middle of the city. I think it’s the perfect set up for our family. It has enough land to have endless projects, small enough for us to manage, and close to neighbors and stores for inexperienced landowners like us.
Keep reading to see our fixer upper farmhouse before renovation.
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The Story of our Fixer Upper Farmhouse
The house was owned by another family for several years and then rented out for a year before we bought it. It needs lots of love and some cosmetic updating, but unfortunately a lot of the major electrical and plumbing work was done prior to us purchasing the home.
Over the years, various owners have updated the home as trends and times have changed. We are hoping to restore some of the home’s historic character and bring back some of her early twentieth-century charm.
Our Fixer Upper Farmhouse Before Photos
Here are some of the before photos of our fixer-upper farmhouse along with some of our ideas for renovation and restoration.
Enclosed Porch
This enclosed porch used to be open; however, the previous owners enclosed it into a sunroom. I do not love the exterior of our home because it doesn’t look like it has a front entrance anymore due to this change; however, I love that the sunroom adds some more square footage inside!
Our initial plan is to turn this porch into a reading room or breakfast nook. Down the road, we might turn it into a homeschool room or playroom for our kids.
Unfortunately, the room is not heat controlled. But, we might eventually add heating or cooling down the road!
Click here to see an update of our enclosed porch!
Living Room in our Fixer Upper Farmhouse
Although it is hard to tell, I believe that this might have originally been the kitchen in our home. There is evidence on the exterior of a potential stove pipe.
This living room was opened up into two rooms. I like how big this makes the room feel!
We would like to turn it into a playroom/living room. I use a toy rotation system which means we will have select toys out at a time. This room is really dark, so we hope to lighten it up and maybe eventually add another window!
Dining Room
The dining room is one of the most well-lit rooms in the house! We are planning to add bead board, wallpaper, and a beautiful chandelier.
We are also planning on removing the floors in this portion of the house. They are vinyl or laminate and are coming up in multiple places. We hope to either restore the wood below or add new wood floors.
Kitchen
This kitchen is tiny, but I know we can make it work! We want to get an actual dishwasher, replace the countertops and floors, and add a backsplash.
Click here to see an updated version of our kitchen.
Since renovating our house, we have learned how to get creative with limited storage and cabinet space. Read this post to see how to make the most of a small kitchen like this!
Bathroom
This is currently the only bathroom in the house, and it needs some work. The shower leaks. The vanity was destroyed by mice. It definitely could be improved!
We’d love to add either a clawfoot tub or a walk-in shower. I’d love to lighten up this bathroom with some white tile and bead board on the walls.
Click here to see this bathroom after renovation.
Laundry Room in our Fixer Upper Farmhouse
Our last house had a laundry closet, not a laundry room. So while this room is unfinished and a bit rough, we are grateful for this space! Our plans are to clean it up and eventually add some shelves and drywall.
Stairwell
The previous owners used this stairwell as a makeshift pantry. We are planning on taking off the paneling, shelves, and boards. Eventually, we might turn it into storage or a little reading corner.
We are planning to either sand or paint the stairs. This blue wall is about 12 feet tall. I’d love to add some beautiful wallpaper like this someday!
Loft in our Fixer Upper Farmhouse
The upstairs of our house currently has three bedrooms and a loft. We’d like to enclose this loft because it has a half-wall right over the stairs. We’d also like to turn one of the bedrooms into a bathroom.
Bedroom 1
This will be the primary bedroom. Our plan is to add some doors, a chandelier, and lighten up the walls and floors!
See our cozy cottage bedroom renovation in this post.
Bedroom 2
We are considering turning this bedroom into a bathroom. Wouldn’t it be charming with a double-slipper clawfoot tub? Well, that’s what we did! See the full renovation in this post.
Bedroom 3
This bedroom will either be a kid’s room or office depending on if we are able to enclose the loft. I love the character of the windows in this room
Chicken Coop at our Fixer Upper Farmhouse
When we moved to our fixer upper farmhouse, it had an old chicken coop attached to the garage. We plan to clear it up and raise some backyard chickens.
Since initially writing this post, we have raised chickens a few times. We ended up converting an old shed on the property into a chicken coop to give them more room.
Property on our Fixer Upper Farmhouse
As I mentioned above, our homestead sits on 2.5 acres. We’d love to get chickens, start a garden, and maybe eventually get goats or honeybees!
We have a lot of work to do, but the bones are good and we are ready to breathe new life into our little fixer-upper farmhouse. I can’t wait to share the transformation and look back at where we started. I hope you’ll follow along with our fixer-upper farmhouse journey
Want to see the changes we have made since purchasing our home? Check out this post with our fixer-upper renovations, before and after photos.
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