Thursday, April 20, 2017

Renovated Farmhouse Upstairs

In my last two posts I have shown you the before and after pictures of The Mustard Seed, the youth ministry home that our daughter Rachel, her husband, and a friend renovated. Today we will venture upstairs where perhaps the most impressive changes were made. Let's take a tour, beginning with the stairway, moving through the second bedroom and concluding with the master bedroom.

Remember  I showed you what a difference replacing the windows made in the first post. They were game-changers upstairs as well. A final major upgrade to the whole house concludes this post, the refinishing of the floors.

Prior to the renovation the stairway was scary. A lead pipe had been installed for the handrail by some youth worker of yore. Globs of multi-colored paint and grime made ascending or descending a sticky affair.
What a difference some sanding, a new handrail, and a coat of paint makes! The paint color is Benjamin Moore Linen White.


Upstairs on the landing repairs were needed to the bannisters and ceiling.

The old balusters were spaced too far apart for safety. 
                                        

New balusters were made.

The ceiling which previously was stained with water spots was repaired and covered with bead board.  (The roof had been replaced in a previous renovation.) New bell lights were installed.



The bedroom at the top of the stairs was tackled next. First, plaster had to be repaired.

Then a coat of paint and a new light fixture transformed the space.


Next on the list was the master bedroom. Old farmhouses had inordinately small closets by today's standards. So, the unusable closet was removed and a tiny bedroom was repurposed for the master closet.


Bead board was added to the ceiling. A new light fixture and a tv were installed.


Finally, a closet system was fitted in the room adjoining the master bedroom.
The last step in this major home makeover was refinishing the floors. Several stains were tried. One was too brown, another too red. Finally, they settled on a mixture of one half Minwax weathered oak and one half Minwax classic grey. It is perfect.

For an Instagram post on this combination go to: https://www.instagram.com/p/yVC1OWzO4u/.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this transformation. I also have included a link to a news article that appeared in the Shawnee Mission Post that tells the story of the resurrected farmhouse.

https://shawneemissionpost.com/2017/04/11/resurrection-of-dilapidated-farmhouse-serves-as-symbol-of-rebirth-for-oldest-congregation-in-leawood-62121