Our story

We bought our dream-home-in-progress in November 2013, right after we were married. We have ALWAYS wanted land, but didn't want to have to move 45 minutes or more out of Grand Rapids. Basically, we wanted to have our cake and eat it, too. Have our homestead but also be close to all of our lovely friends and family. This property gave us the best of both worlds.

We had been looking for properties for probably about a year when we stumbled across this one. When we did the walk through with our realtor, I think we both knew immediately that this was what we wanted. There was no hesitation. Even with all the wood paneling, and the carpet, and the water damage that we could SEE, we just knew. Even with only ONE WORKING BATHROOM. This was it. This was our house. Isn't it funny when your heart tells you that something is just right?

As with any old home thats undergoing renovations, we have run into some hiccups. We had to install a new septic system as ours was probably about 50 years old and about to be nonfunctioning. That involved leveling out a massive piece of land in our little valley and removing the old septic. Big project, but had to be done. & we don't have to do it again for quite some time (fingers crossed).

We also ran into problems with our electric. Everything ran was mainly knob and tube. That wasn't the biggest issue as we knew the house was very old. The issue was all the electric that ran to nowhere. The previous homeowner, bless his heart, had probably done so much of the work in his house by himself. Unfortunately we just didn't know as much as he would have as far as replacing anything ourselves! We decided to replace ALL of the electric in the house (with an electrician). Since we were removing all the walls anyway it was the best decision to get it done and get it done right.

Every day, even with almost two years of renovations under our belt, we get more and more excited about this house. We have never regretted buying this home and we absolutely love living here. We have watched it go from a house, to bones, to a home. & knowing we put in so much work ourselves, that we spent so many nights and days and weekends out there, getting work done and doing it together - that is truly such a reward. I cannot wait to see what this house evolves into and what projects we create through the years.

I hope you enjoy watching us take this journey. Thank you all for the support!