Davis Farm

We drove down this dirt road, pulled up to a wire fence, and I took one look at the place. My eyes widened and I think I sighed with excitement; Phil said "Oh dear God." And that started our amazing journey on this path towards restoring this old farm house. We knew it was love at first sight with this beautiful mess. The farm sits in a little oasis of forest and trails, yet we are just one dirt road away from civilization. It is estimated to be about 250 years old, and it has been in the Fuksa family for about 100 years. It has taken on many identities in its long life, a working farm, market place, family house, with probably a host of residents. When we first walked through it, I was immediately drawn to the walls - they are all about a meter thick.... I thought about all the stories these walls hold. The lives they have seen, the laughter, tears, the people. The history of this farm draws me in every time. It's like it beckons to be rebuilt. To be restored, to be loved on. For new life to be breathed into it. It wants to hold on to the past and move into the future. I love this place - the quiet it brings, the space to process, and the messiness of it all. This is our journey as we navigate restoring and reclaiming this farm house.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Windows!

The windows that we ordered about 6 weeks ago have arrived, and it's time to install them! This is one thing we've really been looking forward to - we felt like the former house was missing out on great views and natural light.

The big window in the future living room is awesome! It's what we were hoping for!

Shanna admiring the new big living room window...

Phil's future office...

Upstairs, top floor, from Lucy's room... what a view!

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Ceiling/floor

Here's the brewery wood now installed as our upper floor in the cottage - we love it!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

12 April

We got to see a sample of what the floor will look like in the guest cottage second floor - i.e. on top of those cool beams. This wood is also from the local Prague brewery, and they've done a beautiful job of smoothing it out and joining the planks together.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

5 April

More work inside! Plaster walls are being added - for example, here's the toilet plumbing before and after plaster...

Kids' playroom on first floor...

Ready for a radiator...

Electrical plan is almost complete...

And ceilings are going up! It's fun to see things really start to take shape!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

29 March

Spring weather is coming, which means some beautiful blue skies and a return to working on the outside of the house. The former outer layer of plaster has been removed to prepare for a newer, stronger plaster surface. We love the way the stone looks, and we might try to keep portions of it for the final surface.