Farmer Country Club

I have done so many fun projects with architectural salvage. It's crazy to me that I haven't done a post on each and every one! I guess I can do a quick roundup. I have built 7 houses, renovated 1 and am in the process of renovating the second, oh and building another! It's a hobby and a business. My husband is the best land/lot finder in the state of Alabama. So, if you are in the market to build a house, he can find you a piece of property that will knock your socks off! Or you can just let us find it, build a house on it and then you can buy it from us!

Our first home was built in 3 months. Basic floor plan and not many extras. High gloss trim, maple cabinets and oak flooring. Don't get me wrong, it was great. We even had a bay window in the kitchen that overlooked the woods and it was perfect! Emma was born there and when she turned about 3 months old, we moved into our second home. The lot was bigger, the house was bigger and I got crazy with the paint colors. This was a big open floor plan, but again, not a lot of extras. John Connor was born here and a few weeks later, we moved into our third home. We had built-ins in the living room, slate in the kitchen, we even added on a bonus room so there was a cool, brick wall! All of these houses were build as quick as possible, live there a few years and find the next "best lot ever". The fourth house. Oh, that fourth house. I still think about the pool and the tennis court. You can see a little of the front of the house here. 

But, it was the antique bricks from Chicago, the beams that were milled into 5-6" wide heart pine flooring and the trough from France in the powder room that make me miss it. 

This trough was from France. We had a metal base built as a stand. 

As you walk in the front door, you see one of the beams that the we used to mill the floors. This one had a lot more paint on it and they talked me into sanding most of it off. I learned early on to go with my gut on things I like. The contractor for this new house will probably hate me. (wink) Those are the bricks from Chicago. You also see one of my favorite things to collect, foundry patterns. 

Walking into the living room, you will see a wall of doors that open onto the back of the house, but turn around and you will see the other side of that brick wall and John Connor's first deer hanging above the mantel. The ceiling was clad with hickory planks. You can see a smidgen of walnut trim that we used on both sides of this room. It was from a house built in the late 1800's. The mantel was a piece left over and you can see the gorgeous detail that goes all the way across. You can see a few more pics here.

Moving into the kitchen, we pulled out all the stops. The cabinets were custom built from hickory and we used a red stain for the top cabinets. I love the lead glass across the top, too. The bricks were split to create a veneer for the backsplash. You can see a small piece of red granite that was amazing. It is surrounded by terra cotta tiles that were in boxes in the bottom of a church basement that was being cleaned out. (jackpot!) We used the same hickory for the bottom cabinets, but used the bead board side for the doors and just a clear coat to enhance the wood. Our kitchen table was a piece of granite attached to the island. Lots of homework and creating happened at this table!

 The keeping room, where we lived ALL the time holds lots of memories. We sat in front of many a fire in this stone fireplace with that old beam as the mantel.

Ahh, the back of the house. We lived out here. The doors you see open up folding to one end. My kids were always in the pool and that swing? My husbands grandfather, Papa, built it for us! This is the best place in the whole house!! There is antique brick framing the arches and I can't tell you how many times we refinished that floor. It was not wood that should be outside!!!

 My bathroom. Oh, this place was a close second to favorite places in this house! That copper tub? Yes, please. I could sit there and read a book forever! The best thing about this tub is the water NEVER got cold! We used the hickory for the cabinets and the bead board on the ceiling. I love that crown molding, too. This color is a lot brighter in this picture than it was IRL.

 These pictures were from Instagram, so I apologize for the grain and the words! Our bedroom was 4 steps higher than the main floor of the house. I took this picture in the "sitting area" of the room that was level with the rest of the house. The banisters were literally found on the side of the road. Metal and the perfect patina. I had the railings made at a local ironworks shop.

John Connor's room was so fun!! We pulled out all the stops in here. The tin was from an old barn that was torn down from our camp house. We designed it around the size of this hand turned bed. 

I will have to dig up more pictures from the rest of the house. It was a lot of fun to build and I'm really looking forward to working on MoonGlow!

Creek Party! is for sale

We started working on this house around 10 months ago. My husband can find the most beautiful pieces of property and then turn them into these amazing places to live. He really specializes in large tracts of land. I guess I should give you the deets...didn't really intend this to be a sponsored post. I will have to ask for compensation! haha

He owns his own real estate firm, High Pointe Properties. You can check out the website for listings  All of this to say, the Creek Party! house is for sale!! We are thrilled to put it on the market. We worked very hard to make this a place like none other in the state of Alabama. The cabin is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, full size loft with many amenities...one being, it's in the middle of nowhere!

An amazing photographer, Alan Matthews, came out one rainy Sunday and snapped some great pics. We have been trying to get together for months! We finally decided to weather the rain and make it happen. Didn't get any of the outside of the house, but you can see that here or here.

I love this view from the windows that cover the front of the house. The wood-clad beams and just enough wood accents really gives this house a modern, yet rustic feel. The rocks you see on the fireplace surround were pulled from the creek. You will see those on the patio in the back, too! The floors are reclaimed hickory. Possibly my favorite flooring right now. We just added a clear, flat finish to these so you could see the natural beauty of them!

When you turn around and look out the windows instead of into the house, you see this. Seriously, this is right outside! The color was probably enhanced just a tad since it was a cloudy day, but this captures the view perfectly.

Downstairs is very rustic. The ceilings in this bedroom are red barn wood and the walls are old bleachers! They are so fun and still have plaques and holes for the bolts. We put a set of bunk beds in this room and would probably put another set if we had them.

This bedroom has the view of the creek. It has the same red barn wood on the ceiling with a little around the walls to accent the natural barn wood walls. The doors were all saved from the same house in Hanceville, Alabama. The floors on the bottom floor are stained concrete. You can see a couple of shots of the downstairs living space here.

I was so thankful when I grabbed Connor for a shot of the two of us. I love this picture. We enjoy building houses together. We have similar tastes and when we disagree, we can usually compromise! 

I have always loved this screen door. It serves no purpose. I just love to look at the size and character of it! It will go with me to another house.....more on that later! ;)

Hickory Flooring at the Creek Party!

This flooring came in several months ago to Southern Accents. I knew it was going to be gorgeous and knew I would use it somewhere! I was thrilled when the Creek Party! plans were coming to fruition and I would have a house to build. We lived in our last house for 7 years and while I was VERY sad to move, I was also VERY ready to change a few things. The Creek Party! was the perfect place for my creativity. I've been giving you sneak peeks along the way. We are opening the house this weekend for the first real party. Connor's Grandfather turned 85 in January and we are celebrating with the 50 close family members! I saw on the weather that it's going to be gorgeous that day! {yay}

So, back to the hickory flooring. That's why we're here, right? They milled this floor in several widths. I love wide plank flooring, so we went with the 5 inch planks. The main floor is hardwood and the basement is stained concrete. I'm just going to show off the pics now.

I was in the loft looking down on the floors in this picture. That is a ladder and it's HIGH! But, I love the color variation in this flooring. We chose to just put a clear coat on them to show the natural colorations!

 Another "top" view.

You may have seen this one before. That screen door, the wood balcony for the loft and the heart pine table built by Connor's Grandfather. I love this picture!

 A view of the kitchen. This is one I took and instagrammed. The house was still unfinished here, but you can see the skin wrapped beams and that octagon shaped one in the center is a beauty!