I’ve mentioned before that my in-laws live out on an old farm in Wisconsin. They don’t farm, but they live in the old farmhouse that the people who farmed the land moved out of when they built a nicer, newer house. So my in-laws just own the chunk of the land that encompasses the house and the old barn. They are surrounded by farmland, but they don’t farm it themselves. Was that an awfully long explanation? Sorry. Moving on.
I shared my f-i-l’s workshop last November, you can see that post {here} if you missed it.
They built that from scratch.
Lately Tom (who is an artist with wood) has been working on the house itself. First, let me show you a ‘before’ of the front of the house.
This farmhouse was definitely a fixer upper when my in-laws bought it. That was exactly what they wanted. They like to put their own stamp on a place.
Like this.
Tom has added a new bay window on the front of the house, along with new custom siding that he designed and built himself.
And clearly he has added his own unique carved wood details.
Have you ever seen siding like this?
Or how about window supports like these?
Yep, it’s pretty special. Ultimately he will work his way around the entire house. The next section to be worked on will likely included the screened porch that wraps around the corner of the house.
I don’t dare tell Tom that I kind of love the chippy finish that is currently in place on the porch door.
When Tom & Naomi moved in, the barn that came with the property was still standing. I took some photos of it back in 2011.
It was a rickety old place, but it lent itself well to some very moody photos.
Just check out the creepy interior. This place just has to be haunted, right?
The saddest thing about this story is that none of the stuff inside the barn could ever be salvaged. The structure was too unstable for us to go inside. Can you just picture me standing outside peeking in the windows and wishing I could grab that old bucket, or some of the other fab vintage farm implements that were still inside!
As you can imagine, it nearly killed me to have to walk away from all of that cool stuff.
But sure enough, a couple of years later the barn did fall down. And on the plus side, now I can salvage some stuff … at least the stuff we can get to without endangering our lives. That includes plenty of barn wood!
So check back next week to see what Debbie & Ken have come up with using some barn wood. You’ll also see a gorgeous new piece that I’m sharing on Monday as part of a Fusion blog hop that will include a great giveaway. See you then!
q is for quandie 
Clearly Tom is an artist. Gorgeous work and attention to detail. I must offer my sympathy for the loss of the barn. I feel these are slowly becoming a thing of the past. So glad you have pictures of it.
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So true Becky. This one was such a huge structure too, there was no way they could afford to try and restore it.
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I love box bays like the one Tom added. Neat details he is adding. Now the big old barn omg amazing! I have always been curious as to why barns are so often painted red – I love that they are red is one of my favorite colors. Just wondering out loud.
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{Here} is a fun article that explains why barns are painted red, but the short answer is that red paint was cheap. And you need a lotta paint to cover an entire barn!
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The woodwork is reminiscent of days gone by…oh it is gorgeous. Enjoyed this post !
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Thanks Janice! Glad you enjoyed seeing Tom’s artistry!
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What beautiful artistry! It makes my heart race to think of all the amazing things to salvage in that barn! Can’t wait to see what you do.
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Uh oh, I hope I can live up to your expectations Meggan! I might have to go back out there and see if I can salvage some cooler stuff 😉
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Wow Linda, he is sure creative with his architecture !!! Can’t wait to see what Ken will do with the barn wood !!!
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Thanks Lisa!
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Great photos of ghe house and barn. The attention to all the wood detail is amazing. I think I would gave snuck in there to grab stuff…lol.
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I was sooooo tempted, but it really did look scary … like it could fall over at any moment.
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My mom who is 95 was born and raised in Wisconsin. When our family would drive back to visit from California every couple years I absolutely loved the old red barns along the rural roads as we drove to our Wis. relatives places in Ladysmith. These shots brought back many pleasant memories this morning over tea. And of course the fab woodwork on the in laws house is wonderful. Nice they’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and pass on such an awesome home in the distant future.
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Oh, I’m so glad I brought back some fond memories for you. I used to have relatives in Rice Lake, but I don’t think we ever made it over as far as Ladysmith.
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You and your hubby are a perfect match as both of your are so talented. I would not have been able to stay out of the barn
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If you had seen how rickety it was, and how much it leaned (not to mention that it may have been haunted and surely was full of spiders and other critters) you probably would have stayed out too 😉
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