We Bought a Country House!

Almost a month ago now, we closed on a house! It’s not just any house, it’s a beautiful 1848 farmhouse in the town of Gallatin, New York, with old hardwood floors, a big kitchen, a clawfoot bathtub, and a barn in the backyard.

Buying a country house has always been a dream of mine and throughout the entire process, I didn’t think it would actually come true. But it did. And along with the innate charm and sweet country details, this house needs a lot of work. We are taking it one project at a time (or at least I’m trying to) as the road ahead is going to be long and expensive. The larger plan is to be able to rent our house on Airbnb a few weekends a month in one year (hello rental income).

For now, I’m excited to start exploring the home portion of Bell & Basket. So this post doesn’t have a recipe because I haven’t been doing much cooking or baking lately (besides salad from the local farm and steak on the grill) but I am going to share a few highlights from the past month. The next few posts will be more focused on individual projects like the downstairs bathroom, kitchen remodel, garden, and more!

During our first week at the house I was dedicated to finding out what was under a ceiling in our “coat room” that had some serious water damage. I was hoping to expose incredible beams spanning the entire ceiling (I had a Pinterest post in mind). I ripped down half of the ceiling and uncovered a never-ending amount of newspaper insulation, wires crisscrossed everywhere, spider webs for miles, etc. After hours of pulling the stuff down in a full Tyvek suit, goggles and mask in ninety degree heat, I decided halfway through that there was nothing up there worth showing. The situation was actually the exact opposite. 

With my tail between my legs, I stopped. We went to Home Depot and got some drywall 101 from the guys there. We then re-covered the portion of the ceiling I ripped down and patched it up best we could. It was my first introduction to drywall ceiling repair and although it’s definitely not perfectly “fixed,” there’s no longer insulation spilling out into every corner of the house. I think I needed that “oh shit” moment. I hope to be much more thoughtful before starting a new project in the future.

On our Sunday drive home we usually catch an incredible view. The beauty of this place makes the hard work worth it. I’m really excited to share this new journey with all of you.