With all of the rain we have had over the last month and a half not much has changed on the exterior of Farwell House. The tractor shed now has two covered walls and a roof. Inside, well that is another story. We made the decision early on, for a variety of reasons, to remove the wallpaper from the main hallways on both floors and stairwells in order to lighten and brighten these spaces up as well as assess what types of repairs would need to be made to the plaster. I have to say, for a house that was built in 1867 things have held up quite well. Cracks and loose plaster are to be expected. The spaces look completely different now. It certainly feels as if things are more open. As of July 17, 2015 it has all been removed (with the exception of several of the bedrooms)! And with the changes my mind begins to wander and wonder.
As I stand at the north entrance and look down the hallway with its massive open wall space I can imagine the work created by our future residents on display as folks come in to see what our newest residents have created. Adults and children alike. Or if it happened to be musician or writer I can see the chairs pulled in from every room to hear and see a performance or reading. Imagining this type of engagement between artist and folks from our community and the surrounding area is like a shot of espresso directly into my bloodstream. Maybe I am a bit of a romantic but there is certainly something about this place, this location that makes me forget about, well just about everything. There is a deep sense of contentment that I find here on the bluff overlooking the Illinois river. The crazy thing is that I wasn’t even looking for it. We were not even looking for it. The place found us…with a little help from some friends.
First floor. East side carriage entry.
First to second floor stairwell.
Second to third floor stairwell.
Second floor east door that leads to porch above carriage entrance.
Second floor bathroom.
Second floor south west corner bedroom.
Second floor main hall with fireplace on left.
Those walls do look unbelievably decent. And the woodwork & stairwells are beautiful – thanks for the peek inside!
My mom use to play in that house as a small child 😍
Thanks for the update. ….good job on the progress you guys have made!
Thanks Vicki! We keep pluggin’ away.
I’d love to come up and help with the work sometime. Just let me know!
We would love to have you visit! I am there quite often working on various projects. Ahhhhh, loads of projects.