Once upon a time, a curious couple named Kansel and Letel decided to take a little drive and see about a hobby farm they saw advertised for sale…
They passed many a horse-dotted pasture along the way…
…and tucked just fifteen minutes away from the interstate, they came upon the lovely little house they had read about…
To the right of the spot they parked their car, they found a small arbor covered in muscadine vine…
And as they made their way around the back of the house, they discovered the driveway they came in on conveniently wrapped itself all the way around and shot straight back up to the main road…
They also found four old outbuildings speckled across the backyard. Visions of a radiant-meets-rustic guest house and a coop full of pretty chickens began dancing in Letel’s happy head.
But after discovering the big cinderblock building to the left was positively swarming with hundreds of carpenter bees…
…they scurried up to the front of the house, and made it inside the porch without incident. Kansel entered through the porch door on the left side of the house…
…and Letel entered through the porch door on the right side of the house…
Inside, they found a beautiful blank canvas…
And outside of it, they found a one heckuva peaceful view…
Moving through the window-filled front door, they stepped straight into a small-yet-tall foyer…
Like moths to a flame, they moved forward into the hallway, and looking back at the foyer, they discovered a wall full of built-in cabinets…
On the front left corner of the house, they found hardwood floors, covered in a large carpet remnant, and an original fireplace, covered in a thin layer of white paint…
On the front right corner of the house, they found more hardwood flooring, another original fireplace (not shown), and another 15-pane french door, complete with original glass doorknob…
Attached to that room, and located in the midde of the house, they found more hardwood flooring, another fireplace (that someone had obviously attempted to “modernize”), and more high ceilings…12-footers, Kansel guessed.
Through the hallway, and in the middle of the left side of the house, they found another room with hardwood floors and a fireplace. This room, however, had been outfitted with a drop-ceiling at some point…
Connected to that room, and located in the back left corner of the house, they found more hardwood flooring, another drop ceiling, and some wild wall paneling…
Through door #1 in that room, they found a large, semi-updated bathroom. Through door #2, they found a long enclosed porch, which stretched all the way to the other side of the house…
Directly in front of the back porch, they found the kitchen…
White-painted metal cabinets lined both sides of the room, and an enormous tiled-topped island floated in the center. It was apparent that this room had also seen some “modernizing” over the years, but I’m pretty sure Kansel and Letel had the same feeling about what could be done to that sheetrock, if one was equipped with safety gear and a sledgehammer.
The ad that initially lured them to the place read…
But in the end, the feel of it was definitely what captivated them the most…
Moral of the story: Go out and stare at something pretty this weekend. Because sometimes, going out, is really going in.
Note: There was a real estate agent present during our visit, and although we loved the place, we’re stayin’ put at TLC!
…for now.
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How could you resisit to walk away? Eeeeek SO Stunning! Thanks for the tour! 🙂
Layla…Go to http://www.pamelotta.blogspot.com and look see what my hubby and I bought and are remodeling for a get away cottage. It’s 72 yrs. old and needs a lot of TLC. We also just got rid of ‘tons’ of mean bees. Yesterday, they found the hive (s)…tons of hives. Now, to get to work. Updates as we progress.
Thank you. Sharon
i would love to buy this and have you guys work your magic! looks like the perfect place for me. whered you find the listing?!
It was indeed a beautiful place. But I think anyplace you make your own will be beautiful. It would almost be more fun to see what you could do with a place that didn’t have such good bones!
OMG! Why can’t I find something like that around here for that price?! I’d LOVE buy it, fix it up and live out my days there:)
Wow, that place looks so amazing. I could totally feel the peacefulness of it all. What a fun project to tackle
What a fabulous place, a dream home for someone to love it. Bit far from Aus to be practical as a weekender, but I can dream
I’m not so sure I could have let this one go. What a strong will you have!
Even started picturing myself in it. Problem is, that’s a pretty long commute to Minnesota!
*DROOL*
If only I lived in AL!
Oh Wow….love the woodwork and that front porch….and man..would love looking out at the meadow…so beautiful….
OMG that price???!!! I know that alot of money has to go into it to make it liveable but I don’t see prices like that in my corner of the world!!
Gi-ormous potential…..check. Peaceful view…..check. Chickens…..check. And most importantly, room for children to play, play, play…..check. Grab your destiny, Layla and Kevin – it’s right there waiting for you.
Thank goodness you are not moving yet. I am not ready to say goodbye to the Lettered Cottage. It has more adventures in store for all of us. 🙂 I also don’t like the idea of you being so isolated with Kevin gone sometimes.’xoxo
Hey Dianne!
Believe it or not, that old place is MUCH closer to Kev’s parents and brother’s than our current house is.
Moving isn’t an option right now though…but we sure love to get out and look! 😀
Daggnabit! I thought you up and bought the place!
PS – Your last line is KILLER!
YOU’RE killer! 😀
SO bummed we didn’t get to hang out this past weekend, my friend!
Next time, for sure!
We just bought a little hobby farm that reminds me a lot of that place…but it’s in Minnesota and gonna require even MORE demolition…if you can believe that:) Love the country feel and outbuildings, and there’s gonna be chickens for sure!!
I can just imagine what this place would look like if the two of you got your hands on it. What a beautiful place, and the land around it looks so peaceful.
Hoffman Media is coming out with a new magazine called “Fresh Ideas” – i thought about you. The magazine is all about decorating with yard sale and found objects. I have seen the first copy and it is great. Will be on the news stands May 24th! look for it.
too bad you can’t just have a country house. you could make that place look cute as can be!!!
I just got a house similar to that. Lots of work and no A/C in the South, but it’s going to be great! All that old wood is a little scary sometimes as far as fire goes, but it does look great. I found one of those 15 pane doors out in the shed and several other old doors that look really nice and probably covered in lead paint!
I’d love to know what you would do with those fireplaces. Mine are 100 years old with messy brick and three of them have no mantles. (I found two of them hiding under sheet rock. )
Can I slice that out of your countryside and fly it to my countryside. That is some piece of property …… and would fill many of our dreams. Don’t know how you resisted.
If you like this farm, you would loooove my farm. My house isn’t as cute on the outside but my views are stunning. I looked around at the view yesterday, as I planted my green beans. I was so thankful to live in such a beautiful place.
I love TLC and the beautiful home you’ve created there….but can I just say that should you decide to move I’ll be so excited for you both for that adventure! This home is beautiful. 🙂 I’m not sure I’m a fan of a screened in front porch…but thats just because I love a pretty porch…but I have every faith that ya’ll would make it look amazing……should you buy it that is! 🙂
Blessings on you both!
Gail
Swoon.
Oh, I thought for a moment that you had taken the plunge! I hope you will reconsider the decision to stay at your present home! You would do wonders with that house!
My boyfriend and I are house hunting, and looked at the funiest built home yesterday!! Lots of rooms with no purpose. We would (seriously) love to find a home like that pictured in your blog in our area. Trust me we have looked. You have an awesome blog.
oh em gee! $125K? Never could you find such a place in the Bay Area. Drool!
You make a California girl want to up and move to the middle of Nowhere, Alabama! Just bubbling with possiblilities!
I’m dying over this house. I love anything with charm and faking apart. It’s incredible. 125k I can’t believe it. If I was there it would be sold.
Is it just me – the house’s roof and the flowers have the same hue? The one on the third photo.
Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamt that someday I could live in a farm house away from the hustle and bustle, noise, and dirt of the metropolitan city. I still do but I could never find the perfect farm to live in. Not until today. This house is perfect. I love its surroundings – it reflects an ideal ambiance.
For me, I’ll just trim the front lawn on the third picture and accessorize it a little bit with garden kits, planters, and pots.
I was just totally ready to move y’all in there – wow, what an incredible place, incredible view, incredible location, incredible out buildings. But since you’re staying at TLC, I’ll simply thank you for the wonderful tour!
Mary @ Redo 101
it was a sad day yesterday and thats exactly what i did – went and looked at something pretty – actually two things because i started the day reading a copy of UK country living!!! good for the soul!
Kansel and Letel. . . hahaha! I don’t know why those names just sounded too funny to me, I must be five. LOVED that house. . . that’s some strong willpower you have, although your own home is gorgeous.
Kev and Layla, I wish you all the best luck in your house hunting adventures. I know whatever you find, it’ll be love (and price!) at first sight and you’ll be able to make it work.
Hey Tina!
We’re actually not in the market for a new house right now…but boy do we love lookin! LOL! 😀
Layla that post made my heart go pitter patter! We just sold our home in KC and are moving to B’ham area at the end of this month (yet we don’t know where to at this moment). A home like this is my dream and the idea of making it “my own” makes my heart swoon!! Thanks for the inspiration and if you want a new thrifting buddy I am all about finding treasures:)
Hey Kansel & Petel, love your blog. I get such inspiration! I have a problem and I knew if anyone could solve it, you two could. I bought some cute little milk bottles at the Pasadena Flea a few weeks ago. Problem is, they have a baked on logo of some spa, not even cute. I thought it would be easy to remove it, but short of dynamite (haven’t tried it yet, it might not even) nothing works. Acetone, scrapping, sanding, strongest paint remover I can buy, nothing works. Any ideas? P.S. Keep up the good work!