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Simple Country Living

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Plans And Projects

On the Monday before Easter, Country Boy announced that he thought that we should build an outdoor wood fired pizza oven over the long weekend. It’s something that we had been wanted make for several years now, but we just hadn’t got there yet. We already have a whole lot of kiln bricks, so how hard could it be? An hour on Google and YouTube, and we realised that the project was going to take a little longer than a long weekend.

Each winter since we came to the farm, we have tackled a big project. The first year we were here, it was all about the garden – extending it and putting in a larger vegetable patch, in the second year it was planting out the orchard, while in the third year it was netting the orchard, and extending the yard. Last year we were working more on the garden – putting in edges making it more permanent. The pizza oven is something we hope to do slowly over the winter months. Hopefully we will be able to have friends over for a pizza or two before the fire season starts next year.

Plans-1-2

The pizza oven is actually only a side project to our big project for the year; extending and renovating the farm house. After four and a half years of living on the farm, we’re planning on adding a new living/dining/kitchen, and walk in pantry to the existing house, and rearranging some of the internal walls so that we gain a fourth bedroom, a study area, a larger bathroom, and (most importantly) a second toilet. The whole house also needs rewiring, and the verandas (which are rotting) will finally be replaced. Did I mention that the current walls are made from asbestos sheeting?? While we’re at it, lets add a fresh coat of paint to the entire house. It’s going to be epic. We’ve put tonnes of thought into the design to make it suit our life. I imagine there will be meltdowns and stress as we work through the project, but boy am I ready to take it on.

We’ve got plans approved, and a builder lined up, so we’re just waiting for the builder to finish his current job. It’s so hard to be patient! In the meantime we’re investigating decking, cladding, lighting, kitchens, tiles, flooring and so many other things I’d never considered before. Oh so many decisions to be made. So many choices.

Plans-1

I’m already imagining clean, bright rooms, wooden floors and colourful furnishings, and did I mention cupboards??? Yep I’m imagining cupboards where I don’t need a PhD in civil engineering just to get the lasagna pan to fit. I’m dreaming of rooms where the paint isn’t flaking on the ceiling, and where the flooring isn’t held down with duct tape. Hannah is looking forward to having a room of her own – after sharing with her siblings for the past nine years, she is ready for her own space. All first world problems I know, but after four and a half years of making do, I’m reaching the end of my tether.

Excited much?? Just a bit. I really can see exactly what it will look like in my mind. The tricky bit will be realising the ideas and turning them into reality.

So tell me everything I need to know. It’s our first time doing something like this, so we are completely naive about the process. Have you done something similar? Tell me all the tricks!

Have you done a major renovation? What advice can you give me?

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Comments

  1. Erin says

    April 21, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    Oh my gosh, that’s an enormous task! Do you have to leave the house during the renovations because of the asbestos?
    Ever since I saw Gavin’s clay oven I’ve wanted to build one, but we also don’t know how long we’ll be here..he’s got a video and an ebook on his experience that I’ve been meaning to read:
    http://www.greeningofgavin.com/clay-oven

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      April 21, 2016 at 7:19 pm

      We may well have to move out for a little while. Depending on when, and how long, we may be able to camp in a shed for a few weeks (not if it is the middle of winter though!!). Thanks for site – am going to check it out now!

      Reply
  2. Jan says

    April 21, 2016 at 9:28 am

    Wow, exciting stuff! I hope you keep us updated as the renovation progresses.

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      April 21, 2016 at 7:32 pm

      I may turn into a home style blog yet!!! 😉

      Reply
  3. Emma - a simple living journey says

    April 21, 2016 at 9:20 am

    How exciting!

    I don’t have any tips as such, perhaps re-assurance. There will be a bit in the demolition period you will think “oh my goodness will this ever come together?” And it will. It just goes through a really ugly phase. I suggest wine and chocolate to help this pass. It will be dirty, dirtier then you ever thought possible, and the dirt will get into EVERYTHING. It will be tedious. And then there will periods you feel like nothing is happening, you cant see alot happening but its all the internal work that goes into a house. And then the last 10% is AMAZING when you see the paint/flooring in. Its amazing the quickest job of finishing is the most transformative. And you will LOVE this stage! It will all make it worthwhile. Remember this is a season, no doubt you will get fed up during periods, excited during others but take lots of photos, be willing to take a sanity break and I suggest trying to keep the very basics of the kids stuff semi-organized to save on tempers and frustrations. Goodluck!

    We are about to embark on our kitchen and second bedroom in our little old stone cottage, currently there are 5 of us sharing the master, excited doesn’t even begin to describe how keen I am to resolve this. 😉 We have a stone wall coming out which I dread. It will be amazing once done but so. much.dirt.

    – Emma
    xx

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      April 21, 2016 at 7:29 pm

      I’m totally expecting a whole lot of dirt and frustration. I’m just keeping my eyes on the prize at the end! Fortunately they are going to build the new section first, so we should be able to move into there while they re do the old section.

      Reply
  4. Elisha says

    April 21, 2016 at 8:49 am

    That all sounds brilliant and very exciting. I dont even have a renovation happening here in the near future but I always buy the latest Home Beautiful mags. They are full of great inspiration. Katrina Chambers Life and Design FB page has great tips and tricks and forums on all things reno and people ask lots of advice from others doing the same old renovating thing, big and small projects. Its actually really intriguing and fun seeing what people are doing. We just got our garden going at the farm and that is exciting enough!! Cant wait to follow the reno here on your blog!!

    Reply
    • Jo@CountryLifeExperiment says

      April 21, 2016 at 7:31 pm

      Will have to check out that page – thanks. I love a small reno project and normally am always doing one (they’ve been on hold while we wait for the this reno). So looking forward to the end result.

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Jo

I'm a city girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a A lovely, easy Christmas with family, good food, a few presents, an afternoon swim and dinner on the veranda as the sun set. Time to stop and be thankful for the many blessings of the year. I hope you had a lovely Christmas too!
We have been mulling over how to fix up the drivew We have been mulling over how to fix up the driveway and lead up to our house for a while. Currently it’s just a dumping ground for old bits of metal and a big pile of mulch, but C would like to create a turning area and put in a garden. First up though, there’s a huge old stump that needs to go. What better excuse is there to have a fire on Sunday afternoon? C and the kids jumped on the quad bike and trailer, and hauled back a big pile of sticks and logs to help the stump burn. Once the fire was going, marshmallows were found and roasted. No better way to spend time together.
Team work makes the dream work. We were asked rec Team work makes the dream work. 
We were asked recently whether we “make” our kids work on the farm. The answer is of course not. Having said that, all three love to help out whenever they can. They all work hard because they want to; because they take pride in working hard and contributing in a meaningful way to our family life; because they love living on our farm and don’t remember life before we moved here. Whether it be planting trees or doing sheep work or feeding animals, they all want to be involved. As a parent, nothing is better than watching them grow in skill and confidence as they work along side you. We’re so glad that we get to spend time with our three, working together.
We’ve had an unexpected addition to the family ☘️🐑. She is a lot easier to look after than the other family members but she does try to escape her yard and head butt people. Poddy lambs are super cute but they tend to think they are a human. Clover the lamb is sure that Meg is her mum. Can’t think why… 🤔🤣
The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: toge The perfect way to end a long winter weekend: together, cooking damper around the remains of the bonfire.
It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got It’s been a tough few weeks on the farm. We got through shearing without a hitch (thankfully 🙏) but we’ve had a run of the flu followed by Covid run through the family since then. The kids and I have tested positive (this is my second time getting it 🦠) though so far C has managed to avoid it. There has been a lot of lying on the couch feeling pretty ordinary. Han had to reschedule her driving test for a 4th time due to Covid, which is disappointing for her because she wants her freedom and for us because it would be so much more convenient if she could drive herself places. Just to add in to the mix, our hot water system has chosen now as a good time to die so we’re on cold showers until we’re all out of iso. This is not meant to be a whinging post but sometimes life just sucks a bit and it’s good to be real. Fortunately, the sight of the fire going with a stack of wood next to it cheers us up. Things will improve soon. Onwards we go…

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Hi, I’m Jo

City girl turned farmer's wife, school teacher, ideas woman, and mum to three country kids. Country Life Experiment is all about simple country living, growing and making our own food, and life on our family farm in rural Australia. Join me as I give country living a try. Read more...
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