This month marks three years since we purchased our land. Soon thereafter, in May, we broke ground on a very simple farmhouse. In order to cut costs, we decided to build a metal-sided pole barn and finish out the inside as a standard home.
We were fortunate to find a builder who specialized in both of these areas. While we felt truly blessed to find someone capable of exactly what we wanted, we learned that building can still be one of life’s more challenging experiences. To read more about what I wish I had known before starting the process, visit my blog this post on my blog.
From start to finish, the process lasted from spring until fall, at which point we moved into our new 1500 square foot home. Complete with one bedroom, one office, one and a half baths, and a large combination kitchen/living area. The outside was finished to look like a barn: red, with a green roof and a cupola. The floorplan I designed myself, scratched out on a sheet of graph paper and handed over to the builder shortly after we signed our contract.
I want to share some of the things that we learned, some of the things we love about our home, and some of the things we wish we had done a bit differently. Imagine yourself dropping by for a visit and a cup of tea. Don’t mind the dogs — they are friendly — and please overlook the mess. 😉
Three Things I Absolutely Love About Our Home
It is unique and special to us. I designed the floorplan myself, so it literally has my fingerprints all over it. It takes into account our lifestyle, with easy access to our garden, the chickens, and a lovely view of the pond.
The one drawback to designing your own home is that most people are not architects and will simply overlook details. Our home is still aesthetically pleasing, but there are a few quirks. We have a pokey back hall. The door swing in the laundry room is awkward. I didn’t provide enough space in our bedroom to accommodate the much-needed dresser.
If you ever decide to design your own home, I advise hiring an architect to look over your plans before all is said and done. If that is not possible, then I recommend evaluating your current home. What features do you really like? Which rooms are especially functional? Take notes and measure what you do have, then use that information as the foundation for your new blueprint.
The kitchen. Situated right smack dab in the very center, the kitchen is truly at the heart of our home. This is wonderful when bringing produce in from the garden. I bring it right into the front door and set it on the counter. Granted, it is hard to hide a mess when one is canning or fermenting, but I love that it is open to both living areas, and the happy clutter gives the true feel of a country farmhouse. We opted to do without a formal dining room since everyone always congregates in the kitchen anyway. Because of this, whoever is working in the kitchen can still play an active role in whatever else is going on nearby.
Our sliding “barn” door. This special feature resulted from one of those “not-an-architect” moments. I created a small alcove off the kitchen/living area for the master bath, tucked between the office and the master bedroom. It was designed to be private, but I simply didn’t notice that it also opens dead center into the living room area… at least not until I emerged from the bathroom one morning with wet hair and found myself face-to-face with the plumber installing our stove. I don’t think he minded, but I was terribly embarrassed.
My husband fixed this problem by building and installing a rustic sliding door. It provides privacy when we have company, has also minimizes noise carried from the living area to the bedroom, and helps insulate the bedroom better in the winter.
One Decision I Really Regret
There is no mud room. Nearly every day, I wish that I had one. And I wish it was a very, very large one! In conventional city homes today, utilitarian spaces are small while living areas are quite large. I find that rural living demands the opposite. I need a mud room the size of my living area.
When we moved, I created a beautiful living space with a settee and a Duncan Phyffe antique table, next to the kitchen so company can sit and visit with whoever is in the kitchen. Next to this would-be peaceful and idyllic spot, however, can be found cardboard boxes of co-op groceries waiting to be opened and unpacked, 5-gallon buckets of grain, bundles of kindling, a compost bin waiting to be emptied or an empty compost bin waiting to be cleaned and put away, 40-pound bags of chicken feed, muddy boots, a dog blanket, chicken manure that has been tracked in… The list goes on and on. So much for my tranquil corner.
I truly wish that I had a mud room with lots of shelving and easy access to outside. Somewhere this could all be housed out-of-view, and somewhere the mud and manure can’t be tracked in so easily.
One Thing I Learned About Country Homes
They need large closets. Even if you are determined to live an uncluttered life, adequate closet space is still a must. Simple living isn’t necessarily simple. It requires gear: barn jackets, gloves, boots, clogs, gardening tools, dehydrators, grain mills, pressure canners, canning jars, carboys, and the like. This gear needs a place to go!
Don’t make my mistake and think that large walk-in closets are unnecessary because you are going to “simplify your life” by moving to the country. Just don’t do it. I did, and as a result, I’ve had to get creative with alternative storage options. This has created the look of a country French farmhouse with lots of odd mismatched pieces, but there are days I wish I had opted for generous closets instead of our shallow reach-ins with bi-fold doors.
Have you ever had a home custom built? What are some things that you learned from your experience? What advice would you give to someone going through the same process?
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I loved this blog! I can so relate. I have been homesteading with my family now for 20 years, but instead of building our own house, we renovated a 1950’s ranch-style home that was given to us for free. It had one small closet in a bedroom and a small, shallow pantry in the equally small kitchen. There is nothing quite like storing your food items alongside the vacuum cleaner, brooms, dustpans, compost bucket, and recyclables! We have improvised on storage, as well, but none of it convenient. Our washer and dryer are behind bi-fold doors on an add-on screen porch. There is some shelving there. We store supplies in drawers on rollers under beds, and we even bought a wooden storage building strictly for the purpose of having one huge closet. It is lined with shelving, and stores much of the gear that one must have when living on the land. I have always said that closets would be my greatest wish. Somehow, we have made this work, and are raising/homeschooling five children in a house that would fit in many people’s living rooms, and I wouldn’t trade my “simple life” on the land for anything in the world.
Lauren I love vintage homes! We had one before we moved out here. So much charm, but as you mentioned, not much space for storage. You are right though, if one is committed it is possible to somehow make it work. Blessings on your homestead journey!
One thing we learned in building our new home 5 years ago is that planning is wonderful, makes things easier, and yet there are still things we would change. One thing I believe we did right was in hiring a designer to take our ideas and put them into her CAD program. We had been collecting pictures and ideas for several years and were able to start with a basic plan from a house design in a magazine and then include our own thoughts in the finished version. A special feature of the process was looking at where the sun would rise and set at each season of the year and even be able to “see” how far the light would penetrate through our (admittedly gorgeous) windows on a given day. Her program was a very effective tool in the whole process, and overall we’re quite happy with our small, comfortable home. Now we need to plan a little seed-starting greenhouse just off the bedroom.
Judy that is wonderful that you were able to see ahead of time where the sun would rise and set. I’m glad you ended up with a workable plan that you were happy with. I hope you are able to start your greenhouse soon!
Wow, we built about 13 years ago. After living 20 years in about 900 sq ft with 4 sons. My advice is be ready to compromise. Somethings are just not possible. Pick 3 must haves and stick to making those a priority. Ours were: mudroom-it is 8 x 16 and none too large, washer and dryer and a sink are in it; bedrooms are all at one end of the house; and we needed a bedroom and full bath on the main level as my mil was in a wheelchair at the time we built. We went with a “bought” plan and then customized it a bit. Ran it by three builders our sons had worked with for more advice.
Things I would change are: more hardwood floors and less carpet, and a different brand of windows.
Cindy I envy your mudroom!! How I wish I had known. Thanks so much for sharing!
We have a ‘custom built’ home but we weren’t the ones who built it, dagnabbit, we bought it this way. If I had a chance to change it, though, I’d definitely have a uber-large combo mud/laundry room with plenty of storage and places to fold clothes. I may live in FL where there’s not much mud but sand is definitely an issue and we have a garden; I like flowers and my husband likes to grow basically anything. How nice it would be to have a large combo mud/laundry room! I would also have a craft room; someplace I can put my sewing machines, fabric, and all the other craft stuff I have – and use – out of the way especially of four legged creatures of the feline persuasion that seem to like anything shiny or to lie on anything they shouldn’t lie on. I’d like to be able to close the door on a work in progress and not have to put everything away only to spend precious time setting it all back up/laying it out again when I want to work on it. It would have nice large drawers so I could lay out everything and would be a room with big windows. Sunlilght is so wonderful when sewing and doing crafts. My third ‘wish’ (which may rank up there with a stairway to Heaven) would be a sauna. I love a sauna. I know. I live in hot and humid Florida but I don’t live in southern FL so it actually gets cold here…sometimes…& it’s not the same. (Yes, thank you. I would like some cheese with that whine.)
Hi Terri, I am with you on the craft room. I don’t do that much crafting/sewing anymore but that is primarily because I have to get it out and then it sits in the living room and creates clutter. I also wish I had a place where I could get things out, leave them out, and then close the door.
We built our custom built home four years ago. There are several things I would do different. I did have a huge large laundry /storage room built but the back door goes out through the end of kitchen and I think it would be better out of laundry area. My bathrooms would have been bigger and more defined showering area.
Things I absolutely love are my stained concrete floors throughout the home, my long front porch and my great room is in the middle of the home and contains kitchen, living and dining. Most especially love my custom cabinets that I designed. Every upper cabinet near the stove pulls out, rather than opening with a door. It makes it more like pullout spice racks and everything is accessible. All the bottom cabinets have drawers or pullouts also. I am too old to bend over and dig for items in my cabinets. ????
Vicki we also have stained concrete and we love it. It cleans up so nice, especially with all that is tracked in. I nursed a sick chicken inside the house over the weekend and didn’t worry about a thing because I can just mop the floors clean very quickly.
This is so incredibly timely for us!!! We have lived on a small suburban block for 5 years and only YESTERDAY signed the contracts to purchase our new property, 3.6 acres!!! The house on it us tiny and old so we are pulling half of it down and doing a 200% extension. We get to design almost everything from scratch, so this information has come at a valuable and crucial time!!! We plan to eventually put in a fruit orchard, have a cow, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks. In a few weeks you’ll be able to follow our adventures at http://www.wildrocket.com.au