A Tour of Honey Hill Farm.....The Entryway

The entryway here at Honey Hill Farm.  The curtains on each side of the door keep out drafts!

Dearest Readers,

I am sorry to have been "away" for so long, but I have been under the weather with a very nasty bug!  I finally have a little oomph in my step and decided I would update my blog.

Many of you have asked for a tour of my dear old house......so won't you step inside and make yourself at home.........

The home was built by my husband's Great-Grandfather and has been in the family ever since.  Each generation has had a family member live here at Honey Hill Farm. We are the fourth and our children are the fifth generation to live in this home.  The home was started around 1895 and finished about 1900.  It is made with triple brick walls that are about 2 feet thick.  All of the windows are original (except 2 panes) and have wonderful wavy glass. 

Here we are in the entryway where you can see our lovely leaded glass door.  It is not original....we believe the original front door was moved to the back of the house in the 30's.  The door that was on the front of the house when we moved here was very 1930's in style, yet the back door was very ornate and much more Victorian.  We replaced the front door with a much sturdier custom made door and moved the old front door up to the master bathroom when we added onto the house.  You might be interested to know that we stopped stripping wallpaper here in the entryway when we reached the 13th layer!  We just shellaced it, textured it, and called it a month day!!!

Now, we are looking up the stairwell, I am not sure if you can tell but we had to add a few things to our dear old house.  When we first looked at the house there was no central heat, no outlets upstairs - just a bulb in the middle of the ceiling and only a few outlets on the main level. No one in the family wanted to live here...I am sure a few of them thought we were just a little crazy for wanting to fix up the place.  Oh,and the only water coming into the house was from the creek. Tadpoles are our friends......

Well....we worked on the house for a year before moving in, adding heat, new plumbing and new wiring. Unfortunately, we moved in just as our well was being drilled and it was a dry hole!  We had to wait until there was enough money to drill again - only six months without running water (and 2 babies)!  And... the kitchen was in the living room along one wall.  Ahhhh.....the good old days....smile. 

Here is a photo of the cute little alcove that is part of the entryway I hope you have enjoyed this part of the tour Dearest Reader!  And I hope you will join me for the continuing tour of my dear Honey Hill Farm in future posts.

Yours kindredly,

Shan

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09:51, Sunday, March 30, 2008 .. Posted by seventhheaven

How inviting ! ! ! Your home looks very nice and cozy, cant wait for the rest of the tour.

Home

10:27, Sunday, March 30, 2008 .. Posted by smmagers

I love your home! It is so nice and homey! Fixing up a home that has been in the family for so long is a blessing. Tadpoles are our friends too. My kids would love to have more of them. I posted I don not know how long ago about my youngest daughter putting ducks in her bath, um they were real live ducks! Bath toys. They would love having tadpoles in our water! Thank you for sharing. God Bless. mj

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06:14, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Sorry to hear you were under the weather (it does seem to be going around doesn't it...)
I am so glad you are sharing pictures of your wonderful home and even more glad you are sharing the stories! Sharing the many, many struggles and sacrifices you endured to finally have this serene space. (I still can't imagine 6 months without running water with 2 babies in diapers, a tribute to your pioneer spirit for sure!)
L

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06:18, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by HSBFrontPorch

Gorgeous! I can't wait to see more of you lovely home!

Kris Price
Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com
www.homesteadblogger.com/hsbfrontporch
www.homesteadblogger.com/athomewithkris

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06:47, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by stitchnchick

Beautiful, as always! I didn't realize that your home has been passed from generation to generation. How wonderful! That is the same with our farm...we are the third and our children, the fourth, generation to live here. What a blessing. :-)

Amy

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07:13, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Shan,
Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well,and so glad that you got your pep back.What a beautiful home,and I love hearing about what you have done to make it your own.I can't wait to see the rest of it! Hope you have a great day.Love,Gayle

Wonderful Tour!

11:43, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Dear Shan,
I am so sorry to hear you have not been well! I am thankful you are feeling a bit better and were able to give us a beginning tour of your dear Honey Hill Farm!

I love the history of Honey Hill Farm and that your dear home was built by your husband's Great Grandfather! What a blessing for you and your husband to be the fourth generation, and your children the fifth to live at Honey Hill Farm! It is wonderful that you and your husband were willing to take on all the hard work to restore your home. I can imagine how difficult it was not having
running water!

You must have been surprised to find so many layers of wall paper! Thank you so much for sharing the interesting history of your homestead!

You home is so gorgeous! I love the colors you have painted with, and your curtains furnishings and decorations! You have made Honey Hill Farm look so old-fashioned, warm and welcoming! It is like stepping into a gentler time! What a wonderful gift the Lord has blessed you with!

Thank you for sharing your home! I look forward to more of the tour!
Kindredly,
Paula

Beautiful Home

01:01, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by jatie

That's wonderful that you were blessed with a home that had been in the family for so long, what a wonderful piece of history. DD(18) and I love to read your blog, she loves Victorian and just ooohs and aaaahs over your home!
Thanks for sharing with us all!

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01:44, Monday, March 31, 2008 .. Posted by Lady Laurie

How wonderful that your house has been in the family so many years!
Glad to hear you are feeling better too...
Your home is beautiful, I look forward to seeing more, I love the colors in your entry way!
Hugs,
Lady Laurie

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02:25, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 .. Posted by countrylivin

Hi Shan, Love the tour of your home! It's absolutely gorgeous!! Do you want to come here and give me some ideas?? LOL

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07:45, Tuesday, April 1, 2008 .. Posted by Sandra

Thanks for the tour of your entryway. I'm really looking forward to seeing more photos of your home. I also enjoyed hearing about the history of your lovely home.

Thanking All of My Dear Readers.....

08:33, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 .. Posted by bodkin

Thank you for all of your kind comments Dearest Readers. You have honored me with your visits here at Honey Hill Farm.

Yours in Kindred Spirit,
Shan
Honey Hill Farm