Goat Rock Ranch (& The Ugly House Project)

A couple of months ago a customer walked into Hots' office and began visiting with him about our plans house-wise here in Kerrville.

Hots told him we were currently renting (a great house with fabulous landlords, so we are very comfortable) and that we were starting to think about beginning our house hunt.  After some discussion he told Hots he had the perfect place for our family-more land than we ever thought we'd be able to buy with a house already on it-and they headed out to have a look.

If you know my husband, you know he gets things done.  He is the opposite of lazy and sees no point in talking about an idea when he can just get it done; like yesterday.  (This is a trait of his which I usually love, though it does lend itself to impulse purchases on occasion.)

Anyway, after lots of going back and forth with the owners we finally had a contract and we closed on our new place last Friday.  Demo started that very afternoon since, well, see the previous paragraph.

The House

Hots did his best to prepare me for the 1979 Special my first time out; a unique house with harsh '70s angles.  And I finally am able to substitute "unique" for "ugly" most of the time.

I have always disliked that style and remember one particular house in my childhood neighborhood.  At 8 years old I remember thinking, That is just so ugly, but I suppose my opinion on a style of house which I didn't own was comparable to my opinions of child rearing before I had kids and now I am actually the very proud owner of a certain 1979 Special that is in need of major updating.

Since I'm no visionary when it comes to potential in houses I had a hard time with this one, telling Hots that I was pretty sure I'd never seen one this ugly.

I moved it to #2 on my ugly list after passing by a dome home on our weekend getaway the next day, but the land around it, its proximity to town, and the setup for what we wanted (in our wildest dreams) were all just perfect.  (It has a rock-walled garden for crying out loud!)

On a subsequent walk-through with my good friend, Monica, who is ever the optimist plus she possesses the ability to look past floor to ceiling paneling (but the nice kind-Who knew?!) and a thorough representation of wallpaper across the ages-1979-1992 (or whenever wallpaper last went out) helped me appreciate the uniqueness and think outside of my box; my plain rectangular box.

This house is more like several boxes of different shapes and sizes, all placed exactly how no obsessive compulsive person would ever under any circumstances place them.  It's good for me, right?

Grandmama joined us for that walk-through, too, and was huge in helping me appreciate all there is to appreciate about the strange house.  And there is a lot to appreciate.

Mom's suggestion to Google "Modern Farmhouse" was what first gave me a vision.  I had never had one of those before regarding home decor.  I was finally feeling like this whole house thing was a go, which was nice since Hots had already practically purchased it.

The main thing is that several people with experience with land ownership here told us we will absolutely have to have goats to manage the cedar on this property.  That may be the real reason I signed on the dotted line.

I decided a while back to call this adventure The Ugly House Project and to keep record of our progress here on the blog, as I know it will be nice to be able to look back on what we started with and where we are.  I'm sure I'll need the encouragement over these next few months and can easily scroll back through the photos.

To be fair I should list some of the awesome features of this house.
-the view is AMAZING
-it has a 1,400 square foot deck to view the view
-lots of windows
-so much natural light that we shouldn't have to use the interior lights during the day
-character to the max
-huge room for the boys to share
-great master suite
-game room
-great wood burning fireplace

Here we go!

This is the entryway/hallway right when you enter the house.  The ceilings are easily twenty feel high and that's all natural light.  I do love some natural light!

We will leave this area as is, with the exception of the flooring.

This is strange; an entryway from the entryway into the living/dining/kitchen.  It does have a wet bar to the right, about which H is very excited.

Here's the living room (view from the kitchen).  The vent hood is the black shiny thing on the right.

A better view of the fireplace, which I love

Looking back into the kitchen and dining.  I can't wait for the vent to be gone!

Here's another look into the kitchen, which will be completely gutted.   

The boys' room is set up for two; each will have his own desk, chest of drawers, and shelving unit.  New recessed lights and flooring is all we'll do here and I have big plans for the decor. 

SK's room.  Hello, wallpaper & golden carpet!

I forgot (again) to take a  completely before pic so this is from today right after we'd started peeling.

The master bedroom is just full of uniqueness; from the dark blue carpet to the paneling to the rock wall to the office area to only one window.

I had to post this one since I guess I forgot to take one pre-demo, but you can see everything I mentioned in this pic, plus my hot handyman.

Apparently a stove used to sit here, which is neat, but since we like our windows open when it's 29 degrees outside having a stove didn't appeal to us.  Nice wall, though!

That's the corner of the stone feature on the right.

A closeup of the carpet & SK

On to the master bath.  Another treasure.

I wish I could've captured the light fixture adequately.  Think glass blocks with a bulb in the center.  Yikes!  And if privacy is what you're looking for, don't go in that potty room (with the lion door pulls).

Is it blue?  Is it gray?  It's blue-gray according to Monica.

We'll replace all the cabinetry, flooring, and paint the walls, but the blue-gray tile and tub stay.

SK checking out the shower and that's the other vanity on the right.

That pretty much sums it up.  We're 2.5 days in on the demo, so I have pics of that I'll post soon.

(The exterior is a whole different story.  Actually, it's pretty much the same story, but we'll get on that several years down the road.  Or after SK graduates from college.  :)  )

I can hardly believe it and am so thankful for this exciting adventure for us and for the kids!  The blessings God has so generously provided us here in Kerrville (& everywhere else we've been) have been humbling.  We are thankful.  :)