The husband and I found this poor old girl back in January - she needs some work, but what bones! Tons of fireplaces, crazy wide original floors, a neat old barn, a well INSIDE the house, great ocean views, and a mysterious stone foundation on the property. We couldn't let it be torn down or gutted and turned into a drywall masterpiece, so we decided to buy it and move to Maine. My husband and I both have been through several old home restorations in our lives, so, we saw what it could be, not what it currently is.

This isn't going to be a textbook restoration because, you know, we like electricity, heat and running water, but, we are preserving as much as humanly possible. Note - the house is in Maine, and we are not living there yet so we have an AMAZING contractor, Pine State Builders, doing the work while we chime in from a distance. He's on Houzz, so hoping he adds comments/photos. We bought it sight unseen (due to Covid travel restrictions that kicked in as were were closing in on the sale), but have been up once to see it in person.

The house was mostly built in 1829 as far as we can tell, although parts of it appear to be from the 1700's. It has been abandoned for 10+ years, so a great deal of damage occurred from being unoccupied. We were heartbroken that the original wood windows had been torn out, and badly installed vinyl windows put in, there is a great deal of damage from that as well. Starting out with no heat, no running water, no electric, everything has been unhooked for years, but we do have a small tree that sprung out of the roof! The yard is a disaster from years of abandonment. Hoping to get a totally native landscape in come spring, but I know nothing about native Maine plants, so that will be another adventure.

Here are some before pics (not shown - a lot):

Those fake aluminum shutters are so gone.

Original boot scrapers! The door will be restored.

View from the back of the property.

So many problems here.

Barn - other than having slipped off its foundation, it is in great shape.

Kitchen - love this fireplace. Hate the popcorn ceilings.

Dining room - we are going to try and save these floors.

One of the bedrooms.

This bathroom...I can't even.

Library

View of the cove and the old foundation.

Next up, some progress updates.