ouroldfarmhouse.com - Restoring a Historic Farmhouse

Home Improvement Adventures: Wins & Losses

A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling pretty good… and honestly, I still am. But the home improvement road is rarely smooth. The Gutter Debacle: Let’s start with Leaffilter…

Phil Atkinson April 4, 2025

Demo Planning

Demo Days Ahead: Exciting Times for Our Project

Finally, it feels like we're making progress. Gutters - check Water softener - check Outbuilding demo scheduled - check Hey we'll take the wins... the gutters are critical to control…

Phil Atkinson March 22, 2025

Money Pit Moments

Milton Blows its Lid: Roof Hatch takes Flight

There are times when I feel a bit like Tom Hanks's character in the movie "The Money Pit," and last Friday was no exception as severe storms rolled through our…

Phil Atkinson March 21, 2025

Money Pit Moments

Life in Transition: Updates from the New Home

It’s been a while since my last update, and while life has been busy, there hasn’t been much progress to share. We’ve been dealing with a lot of personal adjustments…

Phil Atkinson March 14, 2025

Money Pit Moments

Our New Beginning at Milton

After four exhausting days of scrubbing Milton from head to toe, two adults and two cats finally spent our first night in our new home. Milton, having been vacant for…

Phil Atkinson March 3, 2025

Purchasing

Becoming Stewards of Milton: Time to Get Moving

Today, we embark on our new chapter! After nearly 35 years in Jefferson City, Missouri, we're bidding farewell to our community and setting off on a journey with Milton, our…

Phil Atkinson February 27, 2025

Purchasing

The Waiting Game Begins

Not a lot to do at this point but wait... well, that's both true and not... There has been a lot of activity around appraisals and insurance; Insurance isn't a…

Phil Atkinson February 3, 2025

Demo Planning

Shed’s Last Stand: Planning an Upgrade

This is the second outbuilding on the property and also in the sightline of the insurance company - meaning it has to go. Much like the summer kitchen, it too…

Phil Atkinson February 1, 2025

Demo Planning

Summer Kitchen to Salvage: The Fate of a Historic Outbuilding

Unfortunately, not much is left of what I'm fairly sure was the summer kitchen for the home. I've heard rumors that some believed this to be enslaved housing—unlikely, given that…

Phil Atkinson January 31, 2025

Purchasing

Persistence Pays Off: Navigating the Purchase of a Historic Home

I mentioned earlier that we've been chasing this home for quite some time—about 2017. And for one strange reason or another, something would get in the way. It wasn't about…

Phil Atkinson January 30, 2025