Wow! What great ideas. It sounds like you’ll nearly be building from scratch! It’s always fun to see house all those ideas coalesce into reality. You must post pictures of your progress!

Nancy
http://www.liveasavorylife.com

Oh wow Shery, I love the pics you have pinned! I could live in any of those rooms! Especially love the top two kitchen pics. When we bought this property a few years ago I would not have picked this house at all. Hubs wanted this 10 acres all woods surrounding some really nice lawns and a couple of ponds also. But the house is a Modular. Brought in three pieces and set upon a basement. The previous owners tastes were not anything like ours. The cabinets and fixtures are low end and I have slowly been trying to make it ours. Some painting of cabinets in a bath and some in the kitchen. It is a lot of work but you will be so happy when you have made it over. The front of our house just has a deck like step up to the front door, I so want a porch…one day. Hubs is like your man, he wants to do it all himself so it goes slow. I think I need to let him have his pole barn first though because he built my hen house for me first. This past week he pulled up carpet squares from my work area "studio" in the the basement and has laid black and white stick down tiles. It has brightened my area up so much. I have been painting an old dresser to store some fabrics in and the man has also taken an old upright gun cabinet and added shelves that I am going to paint to store fat 1/4’s in. He built himself some beautiful new wall cabinets for his hunting rifles last year. I keep forgetting to share them on my blog. He is a self taught wood worker and does it for a hobby. Now plumbing, I do wish we would hire someone. My kitchen sink has had a leak every six months since we move in four years ago….. Looking forward to all your reveals as they get finished!

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Hi Brenda, Ya know one thing I learned when writing the furntiure refinishing article about Norma Ploog (in the current issue of MaryJanesFarm) is that making do for the common man was the norm <with furntiure>. A lot of coveted antiques today are piece-meal examples. I have one. Buying lumber was a luxury, so often a discarded piece was recycled piece by piece. Your gun cabinet turned into a quilters fabric shelf fits right into that idea. Norma is refinishing a really ratty old shelf – tall, shallow – just right for folded fabric too. It is structurally ok, but needs paint and she’s going to add a beadboard door to it. Your checkerboard floor sounds really cheery. My mama’s kitchen floor is similar – red and cream. Thanks for stopping by!  shery

WOW!! I am so impressed. WE bought an old log (hand hewn) cabin 5 years ago. I have lived in it about 8 months total straight, other times it was visiting since I travel when I work. I loved your ideas. I have a terrible time trying to find soemthing that would work with the log walls. At first I thought it would be great but everywhere I look there is wood and logs. Being hand hewn there is nothing flat or level. This has inspired me to "try again". Now where do I start. I am finally getting a garden space (you would think with 200 acres I would at least have that. It has been cleared as of yesterday and they removed the old double decker outhouse that was someones idea of a joke. My husband sealed it off so no one would get on it and fall and that was as far as it got. (He travels also for work) I am finding that I can do just about anything (well almost). All I can say is THANK YOU… Keep us posted…

Oooooo, a log home. Now there is a dream. I do know from others I’ve met over the years that log wall interiors are a challenge in ways unique to log surfaces. I bet you’ll get it all figured out. A little encouragement goes a long way…and thank you for that. You hang in there too…it’ll be so worth it in the end. Thats what I keep looking at.   Shery

Shery, as I read your blog, it occurred to me; ‘have you and Lynn ever thought about buying an old house somewhere and moving it to your place?’ It would be alot of work, but it might be more of what you want?! Home prices are good now, so maybe it could be profitable?

Hi Terry,  Yes, we’d considered it, but we decided that it was more of a task than either of us were up for. Moving such a structure is a monumental undertaking and in our location, such a house would have to be moved from quite a distance. So, we just decided to ‘make do’ with what we have :o)   Shery

Oh do I know what you mean. My house was built in 1875 and I love it, but it is my work in progress. I love pinterest too! I think Home is Home and I love making it warm and cozy! Love your blog!

Dear Claudia,  WOW…1875 IS an old house. I bet it has so much character and charm. That is what I miss and hope to recreate in some fashion.  Shery

Oooooh, ooooh, oooh. I told you we were sisters. I, too, live in a trailer after recently losing my condo to foreclosure. But, like you, I have decided that this sweet little place can be the farmgirl home I have always wanted. I want to put in a footed vintage tub in my bathroom and am working on putting lots of beadboard in the kitchen. I actually have that cute flowered bread box and almost bought the red phone at the antiques mall yesterday. And the tile backsplash, yep, doin’ that too.
Love your posts

Sheri: Your house trailer sounds like the size of our house. We have lived here 48 years. We have it mostly as we want it but the thing that happened is the wonderful decor began to fill the house to overflowing. I have rid myself of many things and kept the best. I like it here. We have a pantry. We have no basement but the pantry is where it’s fun to decorate. My kitchen is white. This way, whatever colors you want will show up and be accents. My next project is to build a barn in my garden area. Not much room here either but I am determined. Good luck with your project. I know what it is like to live in a space while remodeling. The first project my husband tried I had plaster on the counter and in every crevice of the house. Of course he never covered up any where! Bonnie

Hi Bonnie! The barn-shed for your garden sounds great. I see on off in the distance here too, but with everthing else going on it is for sure a’ways off :o)  Thanks for writing.  shery

Shery,

Rancher, electrician, they’re both the same. " NEVER hire anyone to do something when I can do that." The problem with that is the hired someone has a crew, we only have a crew of one or 2. So the list grows. Oh well, when it’s done it will be perfect! Plus the cheaper cost gives you more money to go farther down the list. Lower costs/more patience.

Your ideas and plans are wonderful, please keep us posted with more pictures. I love seeing your progress.

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Hi June! Thanks so much for the shot of encouragement!! You’re right too. When ‘admiration day’ comes (the day when you stand back and enjoy the end result), it will be great…..if we ever get there :o)))))    Shery

Sheri
You and I have a lot in common! We moved from a beautiful 5000 square foot Victorian home in another state to a small 3 bedroom modular home back in Colorado. We too thought of building a “dream home”, but are not sure we want to stay in this part of Colorado. So, every day I try to decide if we should improve this home or even bother because we may move. However, I find it depressing sometimes as it is a sad little house to me. We have put up a huge beautiful new barn and a huge hay barn, plus shelters for the horses, cattle and bucking bulls we raise. We built a beautiful heated chicken house I wouldn’t mind living in! LOL. I often say our critters live better than us!

We have had to store all are beautiful antiques including furniture in a storage which to me is like throwing money away every month.

I have always felt home is where you hang your hat, but I have never seemed to warm to this house, maybe because I have always thought of it as “temporary”. Good luck in your project. You are a creative person. I can ride, rope, shoot a gun better than most men, but the creative gene past me by. I can’t cook, sew, darn or do any of the artsy projects you and your friends do. I admire your talents. I am a pretty good oil painter of county scenes though.

Treese/Colorado Cowgirl
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Dear Treese,  You’re absolutely right about the temporary notion. I’ve been living in this house for many years without having married it. I finally decided to make this space MINE and make it look that way. I wish I could blink and make it done!

If you get to where you can smoke a peacepipe with your home, I bet some sprucing up and all those lovely antiques would finally make your home your own. I think some of us girls are funny that way. Female animals are VERY fussy as to where they finally decide to make their ‘nest’ :o)

I would love to see your paintings. Hey, I’m only good at a fractional spec of all there is to do on this planet. We can’t do it all and I don’t rope either. I can dally to help Lynn with a sick cow or calf, but I just never friendly’d up to a rope.   Shery

I love all the things you have incorporated on this project. The colors are wonderful! Great job! My husband and I are just about to embark on a journey of building our new house called an earthship, out of old and recycled material. I love using Pinerest too as a sounding board to add just the right things to my taste and recreating it. Thanks for sharing!

Hi I too buy things and wait for the item to show me where it wants to live. People are like that too. We get our homes but we have to live in them sometimes for years before they show us what they want to look like. Our home use to belong to my parents. We bought it 8 yrs ago. It has taken me that long to feel like it’s my home to change.My mom lives next door and doesn’t like some of the new decorating ideas that are out there. So I hesitated changing anything. Now like you said things need work and attention. I’m going my way!. I have always loved the look of painted stairs, I’ve got them now. The old carpet became dangerous. Now I have nice paint and cushy step pads. Sweet and cheap. Gotta love carpet remenants. My mom did help me make new curtains for the dining area and valence for my bay window in the kitchen. We too have a long list and my husband won’t hire it done. There are days I wish it was all done, but I guess that’s how life works. You have to have a list to function. Enjoy your list, I’ll enjoy mine and we’ll both get beautiful time together with our husbands, sawdust, paint, sore muscles, etc..

Looks awesome. I am currently living in a mobile home,also, with another large one just feet away. Torn about setting up the second one, needs a lot of work, but may be moving in three or four years. Wondering about the grant for the greenhouse. Could you give me some info on that since I live in the beautiful state of Wyoming also? Straight across, a bit more than half way to the other side. : )even if I couldn’t have it here, my parents have 10 acres on the other side of Basin where it could be set up. Thanks much. Another Sherri.

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Hi Shery,  Go to your County Extension office and they can give you the specs. I don’t know that much about it yet, but the structure is a frame with a ‘tarp’ over it. I may opt out if it doesn’t look wind worthy. As you know, we get REAL wind in this state.  shery

Hey Shery,
In 2010 I painted my kitchen cabinets cherry red on the bottom, and left the top white (they were all white). Most everyone thought I was crazy then! At age 55, I thought, why not??? Since then I have enjoyed my kitchen so much!! It is so bright and cheer-y. My house was built in 1973, a tri-level, look-alike to many in the neighborhood. But now, my neighbors, friends, and family are always looking to see what is "new" and interesting. I have found that the colors and style that usually catches your eye are what you should use. I was surprised at how it all came together. I have had so much fun with my home, even while I’m waiting for my "dream" home. I have a sign on my cabinet that says "Home is where your story begins." That is so true!!

Hi, Shery…
I am going to retire to a 30-year old modular (it’s paid for!) and have been contemplating many re-decorating tasks. I like the look of an "old" house too. Many times I have longed to be able to find a decorating book or magazine that would address the needs of those of us living in mobile homes…but to no avail. If anyone else has seen one, let me know. I am not "handy" or especially creative, so I usually have to see someone else’s ideas before making them my own. Sooo, when you are done with this project, how about publishing a picture diary of your journey? (Don’t forget to include how to paint mobile home paneling!)

And by the way, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your blog. You are the bright spot in LOTS of my days!!

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Hi Lilli! You made MY day Lilli…with your kind words of affirmation.

I’ve seen a couple articles in magazines about mobole home make-overs – interiors. Only two. You’re right, there is precious little out there that would offer good tutoring on the subject of specific helps. Mobiles homes do pose challenges not seen in stick-built home…well, in the general sense. And, furthermore, there are a lot of people who live in them. A LOT. One could argue that what works in the way of ‘re-do’ in a ‘real’ house applies in a mobile. Well, anyone who says that hasn’t lived in one. Granted, some of it is true, but I know that so much of my discouragement happens when I stand back and look at something nice that I’ve done and the ‘it’ looks nice but ‘it’ is in a ‘trailer house’ room and looks it. Many folks don’t care. For those of us that do, the challenge makes us wrinkle our nose often. In my worst mood, I once said to my husband, "Dressing up a trailer is like polishing a terd". ;o) I was so aggravated with the cheap walls and FAUX wood trim…emphasis on cheap…as in crap. There, I said it. But, I’ve since combed the hair down on my neck and have simply committed myself to making changes that will make me smile. I will take photos and share of them, of course! Thank you for the vote of confidence.   Shery

Love your hearts. Feel so bad for your little terrier. Cut n Heal works wonders for healing wounds like this. A vet used it on one of my horses years ago that had a wide open gash in her chest when she went through a wire fence. In a couple days you couldn’t even hardly tell. I love your blog, makes me dream of younger years.

Hi Shery, Love your herd of hearts, beautiful!! You are a very talented lady.
Oh, your poor doggie!! What a terrible thing to happen, especially to an older pooch. So glad to hear that she is healing and getting along OK. My corgi is my constant companion. I know that love you are talking about.
Congratulations on your new horse, Apple (love the name). Can’t wait to see pictures. Like you I have a love of horses in my blood and heart. My Dad told me that soon after I had learned to walk, I went right up to the horses at a place called Joyland, wasn’t afraid at all, and wanted to ride them over and over. After almost 40 years, I now have two horses! Yeah!! 🙂

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Yep, Jan…I know your ‘affliction’ well and we don’t want the cure !! :o)

shery

Shery,
Again this was a wonderful post. I always look forward to them. BTW thanks for the songs and poems.
Happy Valentines Day to You!!

Your writing validates the lifestyle of so many of us, thank you. I’m going to go look at my scraps and hang a homemade heart on all the horses stalls. I sure hope that good little terrier heals up. Older dogs are so wise and kind; they are to be cherished.

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Dear Liz, What a thoughtful response…….thank you so very much.

shery

I am so happy your dog is doing OK! I love your posts and always pick them from all the sisters to read first and all of it!

Smiles, Cyndi

Shery, Thanks once again for being such a gift! Your writing is amazing and always touches my heart. I am so glad to know little Dotty is ok- Vetericyn is an amazing product and she will be healed in no time!
A few years back our Jack Russell (Buzz) took an very unusual trip to the neighbors and found their Doberman very unhappy at his presence. Buzz had never, in 14 years, left home, and how he got back is a mystery- his front end and back end were only attached by his spinal cord. 600 stitches and one very talented vet later, he was back in one piece and lived another two years to a ripe old 16. SO I am sure Dotty will be fine! I know how heart wrenching an experience like that is, and how worrisome. Love is a wonderful thing! I love your herd of hearts and plan to try a few myself- thanks for the inspiration! Happy Valentines Day!

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HoleyMoley, 600 stitches on a little dog?! Sounds like he was held together by thread. WOW.  Jack Russells are as tough as Blue Heelers.  shery

I love all the projects in maryJane’s Cluck. It helps fill the void in between the issues I receive in the mail 🙂 🙂 🙂 The heart project is really cute. You can make them all so different, and they’ll all turn out lovely 🙂 🙂 I’m farmgirl sisterhood member #2176 🙂 🙂

Oh, that Jack Johnson song is really sweet 🙂 Thanks for sharing 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

Thank you SO much for this writting – it is exactly what I need. I was diagnosed with breast cancer & getting ready for treatments; trying to get out of myself & use the experience as a tool to be more giving; recently started making cards to send for those ‘in need’. Your blog is quite an inspiration! love ya girl, jonna from tn.

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Oh Jonna, you have some challenges ahead. I pray that when you’re on the other side of all of it that you’ll have accumulated many POSitive experiences via caring hearts like your own. Best wishes to you for complete healing and all the strength necessary for the journey ahead. Thank YOU for writing.  shery

Hi Shery. I have read your blog for some time now and today I thank you for such wonderful, loving, and comforting words. Yesterday, my family laid my dearly loved father-in-law to rest and ushered him into the heavenlies. It was most difficult for me to watch my five twenty-something grown children grieve their beloved "Pa.." Today is the first day in the past six weeks since his sudden stroke that I have taken to sit and reflect. Thanks again from one farmgirl to another.

Dear Terri, My condolences to your family. I know it is a comfort that a loved one suffers no more and resides now in a wonderful place, but they do leave a gaping hole. That is real love. Other lost things leave no hole. Your kids are lucky to have had someone who left them with such a hole and a lot of memories of their Grandpa to fill it :o)  I think that is their last gift to us. Love to you.  Shery