Reminding Myself Where We Started…and How Nice It Is Now

I love Advent and Christmas. I love the buildup of Advent. I love the Christmas season. And I love how are living room seems perfectly suited for this time of year.

I was taking this picture of the farmhouse living room and it struck me how far we’ve come. The renovation sort of ended a few years ago, although we still have projects to do in the house as part of that renovation…but let’s not talk about that.

This was our living room from the outside during the renovation…when the walls literally came tumbling down.

east living room wall during renovation of farmhouse — This is the east wall in the living room during the renovation. Nice, huh?

After the south wall fell off the house — Here’s our living room. Really airy, don’t you think? After the wall came tumbling down and Bob pushed the pieces the rest of the way off, this is what we had at the end of the day: Nothing. This living room wall was completely open to the outside. Did I mention starlings nested in the house during all of this? No? Well, they did. And I can’t stand starlings on a good day!

Let’s talk about how years ago when I was active on Facebook and I would post photos of the renovation and people would ask for “After” photos and I didn’t offer any for all kinds of reasons and now I look at our charming little farmhouse living room all decked out for Christmas and I think “yes, now this is an after picture!”

Our farmhouse is small–tiny really. It’s 1,293 square feet, to be exact. But it’s laid out well. We have two bedrooms, one bathroom, an office, a mudroom, a living room, a dining room and a kitchen. Yes, the front door opens straight into the dining room, but does one really need an entry way? I think not. (Not that I wouldn’t mind having an entry way, mind you…)

Plenty of people would balk at the idea of living in such a small house. We only have two closets, after all. But it’s not that hard once you realize you simply can’t have much stuff…and that’s a good thing!

We do struggle with clutter and with two dogs and three indoor-only cats, we struggle with pet hair and dirt. On the other hand, I only have the 1,293 square feet to keep clean, so maybe all those animals in a tiny farmhouse is easier to manage than in a huge house?

As I type this, it’s January 2nd. We have three more days of Christmas, and then the tree and decorations and lights will be put away on January 6 (Epiphany). Until then, I hope to spend as much time as possible in our adorable farmhouse living room.

And then? Even after the Christmas decor is tucked away until next year, I’ll still enjoy sitting in our tiny farmhouse living room in our tiny farmhouse project while I think about how far we’ve come.

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