Tour “The Old House”

After my son was born, my husband and I moved back to my hometown to be closer to family. We decided to rebuild my grandparent’s 1800’s farmhouse, which had fallen into complete disrepair over the years. I re-worked the original layout and footprint of the home, keeping the essence of “the old house” at the forefront of my mind as I designed our new/old farmhouse.

We disassembled, and re-assembled our home in the shape and form of the original structure, adding as much of the old back in as possible! Every design decision I made for our home was based on the history of the old house and the stories of the generations that lived here before me. So there was A LOT of storytelling involved in the process of designing and now decorating our home. 

Preserving the history of “the old house”, as we always called it, was one of the things that was most important to me during the re-build of our 1800’s family farmhouse here in North Carolina. So naturally, our first step was to document everything in photographs. I hope you enjoy the tour of “the old house”!

tour of the old house, an 1800's NC farmhouse
1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding and red brick chimney

I’ve been in love with this little old farmhouse for my entire life! It is by far the oldest home I’ve ever been in. The farmhouse and the farm it sits on has been passed down for generations in my family, all the way from my great great grandparents down to little old me. While we don’t know the exact year it was constructed, older generations in the family estimate it to have been built before the civil war.

1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding and red brick chimney
1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding and red brick chimney

As a little girl, I would spend weekends here visiting my Granny and Papa. If I close my eyes, I can still see that old chimney and the profile of the house peeking through the trees as we round the bend coming down the old dirt road.

tour the old house before the renovation started
1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding and large front porch

Y’all my Granny was literally born in this house! Her parents raised her here along with her three siblings. And then years later, my Granny and Papa raised their four children here.

front porch or 1800's NC farmhouse
1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding, red brick chimney, and screened in porch

It was originally built as two separate structures, with the kitchen in one building, and the living room and bedrooms in another. I’ve been told that houses were constructed this way so that if the kitchen ever caught fire, it wouldn’t burn the entire house down. Family members have recounted walking across a wooden plank to get from the main house to the kitchen. Eventually they added a room in the middle and joined the two structures together to make one house. 

1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding and red brick chimney
1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding and red brick chimney
front porch of 1800's NC farmhouse with weathered wood siding

I have so many fond memories here… like the time Granny gave me a pot, a wooden spoon and some collards so I could “cook” like her on the screened in porch… Playing school in the kitchen just to be near her… Watching the living room TV from my Granny’s bed in the next room over as we went to sleep. I may not have lived in the house, but this house was my childhood. 

original farmhouse living room before renovation
original fireplace in 1800's NC farmhouse
millwork on the ceiling of 1800's NC farmhouse
back bedroom of 1800's farmhouse before renovation
front bedroom of 1800's NC farmhouse before renovation
1800's NC farmhouse upstairs bedroom with original shiplap on walls and wood floors
1800's NC farmhouse upstairs bedroom with original shiplap on walls and wood floors
original mantle piece with original shiplap walls
1800's NC farmhouse upstairs bedroom with original shiplap on walls and wood floors
stair railing inside 1800's NC farmhouse original shiplap on walls

If these walls could talk, can you imagine what they’d have to say?! We actually found several of my ancestors’ names written on the walls in the upstairs bedrooms! Click here to see exactly how and where we incorporated this old wood into our rebuild!

stair railing in 1800's NC farmhouse upstairs bedroom with original shiplap on walls and wood floors
stair railing in 1800's NC farmhouse upstairs bedroom with original shiplap on walls and wood floors
before renovation of bedroom in the old house
before renovation of bedroom in the old house
original dining room in 1800's NC farmhouse
original dining room in 1800's NC farmhouse with blue walls and wood door
old farmhouse kitchen with white walls and wood floors
original farmhouse kitchen
original farmhouse kitchen cabinet
original farmhouse kitchen cabinet
original pantry in 1800's farmhouse
view from kitchen to the front porch in 1800's NC farmhouse

Rebuilding the house was a labor of love! It was emotional and I agonized over every decision because I wanted to get it right… to do it justice if you will! Things here look a lot different now, as there was so much that needed fixing or needed to be completely reworked. But the essence of “the old house” and the feelings of coming home remain. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour, and thanks for following along…

Love, Brittany