Amelia Hill House - 1 Year In

Facebook reminded me that today marks one whole year since we closed on Amelia Hill House.
Here's the things that have, and haven't, changed about this little homestead in the past year.

What Has Changed

A lot of non-glamorous stuff

Anyone who has bought an old house can tell you that they can take a ton of upstart work - a lot of which does nothing to improve aesthetics.
Before we moved in we knew the electric needed substantial replacement. The attic had too little insulation and what was there included the remains of some critters who moved in for a bit. The water softener was not functioning, and the entire house needed a through cleaning after sitting empty for a number of years.

Some dream projects did happen

The kitchen wasn't just not aesthetically pleasing, many of appliances were on their last legs or were straight up non-functioning. Before move in we opted to re-do the entire kitchen area and downstairs bathroom.

Bathroom - Before

Kitchen - Before

I'm so grateful we did. We got to design a kitchen that would work well for us - adding in an island and rigging up a gas range.
The bathroom is so much more usable, and the re-do took care of a mildew problem that we didn't know was happening under some cabinets.

Bathroom - After

Kitchen - After

Library is Reality!

I have dreamed about having my own library since seeing Beauty and the Beast as a kid.

I mean, who wouldn't?!

When we saw the downstairs bedroom was really very awkward as a bedroom (it's right off the dining room and shares a bathroom with the kitchen) the dream of a library was born.

This:

Has become this:

Surprise House History

A year ago we thought this house only dated to 1901. Which is, granted, still over a century old, but not as old as it might be. After finding a letter from the great-granddaughter of the original builder, I have put in a decent amount of research to corroborate her story and track down what I can about the house and original family.

It's a thrill to find even a scrap of newspaper in the library archives that mentions the correct Schmidt family (which I now know that name is to peoples of German descent that Smith is to English. Oh so many false trails.) I've had some success tracking down the original land patent and records of the various land buys and deals that created the farmland our home was designed to oversee. 

The local historic society is getting interested in learning more about the German speaking founders of the city, and thinks our house might be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, still standing. Hopefully I can put in more research time this summer and find out! 

Many projects are on back back burner

The house underwent renovation projects in the 1950s and 1970s. The 1970s has left us the popcorn ceilings and soot stained sandstone fireplace. I would love to tackle the damaged wallpaper in the dining room and living room, finish painting the day nursery, and finally get a lot of our art up on the walls.

But does it cause daily living or safety issues? No.

So it's been a practice in letting go and allowing fixing up Amelia Hill House to be a slow meander rather than a sprint. 

Summer Take Two

Buying a house in Minnesota in the winter meant we had no idea what was underneath all that snow and ice!

This summer will be our first time getting serious about gardening, and taking advantage of the blessed former owner who designed our yard to always have something blooming during the growing season.

Just before winter set in, I found an egress window to a crawl space under the guest house that I didn't know existed. We also have a well under the guest house that needs to be capped this Spring/Summer. I see some summer archaeology in our future!

It's Really Home

The house has now seen everyone's birthday, a Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. After years of renting and moving and always being ready to pack up and leave, the feeling of getting to settle in is a luxury. We're still learning. It's still a heck of a lot of work, and there will be more to come, but this house seems to be up for the task of sheltering a new motley crew of young-ins - 144 years after the first set.

Linking up with This Ain't the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!