Revisiting the Farm

Nearly 10 months ago, I shared photos and designs for a farmhouse that I was renovating in Chester, SC.  I had been working with my client on a complete redesign of the home, which had been built originally in the late 80's and not only had a very strange floorplan, but was also completely lacking in any true farmhouse charm.

Now, more than a year after we started working on the initial designs, the construction is nearly complete!  I had the opportunity to visit the site last week and check out the progress.  It's hard to believe it is the same house.

Here's an exterior shot of the 'Before':

And here's the progress in mid-August . . . .

And here is the house now . . . (!)

Unfortunately it was a miserably cold and rainy day on Monday, so i decided not to traipse through the mud for a front shot of the house.  But even at this angle, you can tell that it has gone through nothing short of a major transformation!

In the original structure, there were only a few windows on the front of the house, and no porches or patios to sit and enjoy the expansive view.  Though we only increased the footprint of the home by about 200 SF to create a new master bedroom, we added nearly 2,500 square feet of porches to the front, side, and back of the home.  

Almost the entire front facade of the house was removed in order to pull the front entry forward and add fourteen french doors across the front to open up the rooms to the beautiful views.  Three interconnected, gabled porches were added, with a large outdoor fireplace. Another striking change was replacing the asphalt roof singles with this gorgeous cedar shingle roof.  It entirely changes the look of the house and will only grow more beautiful with time.  

New outdoor fireplace, with log storage below, and pizza oven

On the inside of the home, only a few of the rooms remain recognizable from the original floorplan.  For example, here's how the kitchen looked 'before'. You can see the original front door to the far left of the photo:

 . . . the progress in August:

. . . and now the new kitchen, still in progress, relocated to the opposite side of the space where the living area used to be:

Here's a few shots of the great room, before:

This is where the new fireplace will be located

Before view of windows towards pool

Before shot of fireplace wall

In August:

And now:

Picture windows replaced with pairs of french doors

This is where the window used to be. . . 

The fireplace in the 'before' photos was completely removed and relocated to the exterior wall.  Now bookcases and a desk area line that wall:

Soon there will be a large, rustic barn door on an iron track that will conceal the desk area as needed.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the back of the house will now become the main 'front' entrance to the home.  We've changed the window pattern and added (per the advice of our feng shui expert) a large solid - not glass - front door.

Original back of the house (in August 2011)

View of the mudroom, interior

New front door

We're in the home stretch, but there's still lots to be done before it's move-in ready.  Over the next month, the painting, cabinetry, countertops, and flooring will be installed, followed by all of the 'pretty' stuff - lighting, furniture, rugs, artwork.....etc.  I am giddy to see it finally all come together!

Thanks to all of you who have been keeping up with me as I've been working on this project.   It will be exciting to share the final 'after' photos with you and hear your feedback. 

Thanks, as always, for reading!

Bronwyn