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Grandma's House DIY

Home tour of our renovated 1915 northern Minnesota farmhouse. This house was my grandparents' home for over fifty years, after 16 months gutting, renovating and restoring it I moved in in 2015. Its still a labor of love for me as each room keeps evolving and I keep getting more ideas to update our spaces. Someone once said that a home is never finished and I sure hope that's true!

I believe our house is beautiful but I also know that its not for everyone and I'm perfectly fine with that. We don't want to live in a museum. I'm not a interior decorator. I firmly believe that no matter how lovely a space is, if it doesn't work for the people living in it, than its a complete failure.

However, I also firmly believe, we can all have a truly beautiful home that still works perfectly for us! This is our little updated farmhouse. I think we still respected her age, her roots but still managed to give us a practical home that works for us.

The Current State of the Garage and What’s Next!

To get the garage to its current state feels like a huge accomplishment for me! To recap I started in the early spring of 2019. First I had to clean the whole place out, get everything off the walls and then haul yet another pile of crap to the dump. Then I ran power, insulated, covered the walls, installed the doors, put EVERYTHING back where it belongs, made a path and enclosed my stock tank complete with a barn door on top of it! Read the rest of the post »

Autumn Deck Reveal with New Seating and Updates!

Autumn Deck Reveal with updates and lots of new seating and additions! OMG Where on earth did this summer go!? I can’t believe its so far into November already and I still have so many fun things Lodi and I finished this summer and fall to share with you guys. I decided after so many changes to the deck (Check out the old reveal here) that I definitely needed to share a new deck reveal with you before 2020 was over and I missed the lovely fall colors! The biggest changes are all the seating we removed and replaced with new! Read the rest of the post »

Tiny Bathroom Reveal – From Embarrassment to Moody Stunner!

Main floor tiny bathroom reveal! This bathroom was the most difficult and annoying of the planning issues I had here during the renovation. (To get the whole scoop check out my post all about it here.) I think I made the practical choice on where I ended up putting the bathroom but, really, there were few options and I didn’t like any of them. But now that its fixed and finished I kind of love our tiny bathroom now! First though let’s take a trip back to what this little space looked like before. Read the rest of the post »

Bedroom Reveal – Completing the New Guest Bedroom Unisex Redesign!

I’m so excited to finish the new guest bedroom reveal! My old country girl design and library just wasn’t right anymore and this room needed attention badly. It needed to grow up,l become more unisex and also become a lot more comfortable for any guests or friends that might stay. It all started with a new far more grown up paint color called Flannel Gray by Valspar. From there I tackled the challenging furniture layout and now moved on to the final touches, design and completion. Read the rest of the post »

Living Room Reveal – Farm Houses can be Classy, Fun & Practical!

Farmhouse living room reveal! OMG you guys this room took me over 5 months to finish – UGH Finally though, we have arrived at the new living room. It probably seems strange and even silly but buying a new sofa meant something to me. Throughout the entire home almost every single piece of furniture here I’ve either inherited or I built. The few other pieces besides I picked up at either thrift stores or garage sales. I literally only have one “new” thing and its my dining room chairs which my mom bought for me as a gift MANY years ago! Read the rest of the post »

DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal! A Bigger Closet and a Bigger Kitchen!

DIY Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal, somehow I took space AWAY from my kitchen and yet I ended up with MORE storage and a bigger feeling space! In this kitchen I will always think of my amazing Grandma Charlotte who lived in this home for over fifty years before me. I was thrilled that this old farmhouse could become mine and ecstatic at the notion of creating my very own farmhouse kitchen. This space was a VERY long time coming for me. I had no idea it would take me from early spring of 2014 until right now, to finally create and finish the kitchen of my dreams. But, ya know what? It was worth it! Read the rest of the post »

A Farmhouse Entryway, Office and Dining Room Reveal

I should have posted a reveal of my entry way back when I first “completed” it in 2016. But, honestly, it never felt truly “done” until now. The wood stove happened and the entire room needed to be repainted because of smoke damage and then, because I had it cleared out I went ahead and gave my floors some TLC too. Finally though I was able to take my time and put it all back together again! Read the rest of the post »

My Laundry Room Reveal – How one gorgeous table cloth started it all!

Finally we have come to the reveal of my new laundry room! Yep, I am no longer calling it a closet – I believe this space deserves to be labeled a real room now. First I tackled the heavy lifting, recycling my old kitchen pantry here in several places, building custom shelves, trimming it all out and painting the whole room. From there I added some color and then, finally, I was able to put it all together with some serious organization. Read the rest of the post »

My New Workshop Reveal – Fancy, Fun and Organized!

Well I finally made it – here is my finished brand new workshop reveal! This was a LONG time coming: My first post about moving my workshop out of my basement came out in MAY OF LAST YEAR. I lived in a constant state of digging through boxes, looking for one tool or another, and going absolutely bat shit crazy lol. Read the rest of the post »

My Outhouse Reveal! All dressed up DIY Farmhouse Style!

My outhouse reveal! After building my outhouse I couldn’t wait to dress it up! To be quite frank the last thing I wanted this little outhouse to feel like was an actual outhouse. (I have nightmares of the creepy, spider-filled, half-rotted places I remember using when I was a kid. To be fair it was better than having to go in the woods – but still.) I was on a mission to make it as comfortable as any of the bathrooms in my home. Read the rest of the post »

My NEW Office Reveal: how to create designated spaces in an open plan

Making a new office, creating spaces in an open plan. With my becoming a single gal I went back to my old plan of putting a rental suite in my basement. But then I needed to figure out where my workshop was going to go! So I moved it to my biggest bedroom on my main floor but then I needed a guest bedroom so I lost my office lol. Read the rest of the post »

Master Bathroom Refresh – Bohemiam meets Farmhouse

Master bathroom refresh for a newly single gal, how I’m making myself my own luxury retreat on the second floor of my home. If you’ve ever checked out any of my Inspiration Boards then you know I am in love with the natural look and textures of bohemian interior design. With both my master bedroom, and now my bathroom, my challenge was: how could I give myself the bohemian look while still staying true to my 100 year old farmhouse? Read the rest of the post »

Master Bedroom Reveal – Boho Hollywood Meets Farmhouse!

Master bedroom reveal, bohemium meets farmhouse! I drooled over this rug for MONTHS before I finally decided to spoil myself by buying it! I lived with it without a rug pad for several weeks, putting off the purchase. But then Rug Pad USA contacted me and asked if I would like to do a review of one of their rug pads and it was perfect timing! With a new rug, two “new” lamps and a new comforter it was WAY beyond time to share with you my newest refresh of my master bedroom! Read the rest of the post »

Guest Bedroom and Library Reveal – Country Girl Style!

My new guest bedroom and library! A lot has been going on around here at Grandma’s house. Lots of changes. With the divorce final and so many hard days behind me, my cousin said, “I know you’ll be fine because you’re Stubborn and Busy.” We’ve decided that that’s going to be on my tombstone, “Here lies Tarah who was stubborn and busy.” And we have all agreed that my two grandmas would be very proud as they too, were VERY stubborn and busy women. So, on to the first of the big changes that I’ve been working on: here is my BRAND NEW guest bedroom and library! Read the rest of the post »

Deck Reveal, My Outside Dance Floor and Living Space!

A post all about one of my favorite “rooms” of my house: the outside deck and my dance floor! When my grandparents’ lived here this was their least utilized outside of the home – the only way to reach it was to walk all the way around the house! My plan to add this deck came naturally and was one of the first things I was certain I wanted to add. With the depth of the deck 11 feet all the way around I chose to use 12 foot green treated deck boards that I put in as tight as I could together and then cut off along the edge with a skill saw. Read the rest of the post »

Farmhouse living room reveal of thrift stores and hand me downs!

A post all about my farm house living room! Beneath that old blue carpet were several layers of linoleum that wonderfully protected the hardwood for many many decades. This is not a big room nor was it an easy room to plan. First the staircase had to double in length (because the old one was so steep it was like climbing a mountain!) and, because of the staircase covering up its entryway, then the bathroom had to move and the living room absorbed that problem too by giving up even more space. Read the rest of the post »

The Little House: Is finally complete! Before and after of the entire remodel!

I am so excited to finally show you guys the before and after of the entire little house remodel! It took me about fifteen days in total to get this place up to snuff and around $3,000 to complete it. I had a serious plan and took a few hits when that plan collided with reality – I also tried a new product (styrofoam ceiling tiles!) for the ceiling in the main room and in the bathroom. I also purchased the most expensive plywood I have ever purchased (nearly $100 for a sheet!) that my husband helped me cut and get into place in the kitchen for the counter tops. Read the rest of the post »

Home Tour: Master bedroom refresh! Sweet country meets Hollywood glam!

Several times in the past couple of months I’ve hinted at showing you guys my master bedroom refresh! It all started when I decided to move the head of my bed from under the south facing windows to the east wall. It opened up the room so much – I can dance up here now! But it left me with a couple of issues, the first big one was that I could no longer use my washstand as my bedside table (not enough room any more) and neither could I use the dresser for the other side. So, on I went thrifting on the search for bedside tables, their makeover was a fun and easy one, check it out here. Read the rest of the post »

Home tour: the Kitchen Reveal!

Oh I am so excited to finally show you my kitchen reveal! You guys have heard me talk many times about how it took me fifteen months to renovate my grandparents’ 100 year old farm house. It was a tremendous amount of work but I did get the majority of it done and now I’ve been living here for a year in August! I know, I know, you can throw tomatoes at me, I have not yet given you guys the complete home tour. Read the rest of the post »

Home tour: My office reveal!

Before we can truly start in on my office reveal we have to start by going way way back to literally the day I started remodeling the house. This room used to be what was left of this old house’s screened in porch. Back in the ’50s the other part of the screened in porch had been enclosed to create an entryway and my grandparents’ bedroom (so they could sleep on the first floor and their two girls could get the two bedrooms upstairs that is now my master suite). This part though remained a screened in porch and one of my very favorite places in my child hood. Read the rest of the post »

Master Bathroom Reveal!

A Master Bathroom Retreat, my gift to myself! The total amount of months it took me to complete my renovation was fifteen. I spent almost every day after work at the house, almost every weekend and it just about killed me. Going into the renovation I knew it would be one of the hardest things I had ever done but also, what I wanted to do more then anything I had ever wanted to achieve in my entire life. This master bathroom was my treat to myself. The double slipper tub (*swoon*) was the one splurge I gave myself for all of my work and I have never regretted it! Read the rest of the post »

Master Closet, Utilizing every inch for a lovely space!

My wonderful walk through master closet! As far as the design of this whole floor goes it all started with the passing of my other Grandma: Eleonora. You’ve seen her mentioned a couple of times here along the way in my Before & After of Eleonora’s Rocker and Eleonora’s buffet. You’ve also probably heard me mention my awesome white leather tufted hassock. It was in Eleonora’s attic for my whole life so when they told us grand kids that we could choose something to keep, I was so glad I could keep it for the rest of my life! Every morning I think of her when I see it. Read the rest of the post »

Home Tour: Master Bedroom Reveal!

My master bedroom reveal! I know I know I know, we’ve been living in the house 6 months and I still have not posted anything resembling a reveal of the rooms besides when it was empty and we first moved in! I’m sorry guys, you are allowed to throw tomatoes at me. The truth is I’m just not an interior designer so making the rooms pretty for pictures really stresses me out. I don’t feel like I am any good at dressing rooms up at all but I guess this is how I learn! Read the rest of the post »

Grandma’s house is officially MY HOUSE! Before and afters gallery!

May 5th, 2020. Since this post first came out all the way back in August 2015 my Grandma’s House has changed considerably. She and I have both been through a lot of times (both good and bad) to see the light finally now. Since August 2015 I got married, lost my doggo best friend, threw my ex husband out for good, tackled my entire home in every way and, after two years as a single gal, was joined here by Lodi, the love of my life and his sweet doggo Annie. Read the rest of the post »