the devotion continues

After selling ‘the ranch’ in 2023, I moved from Minnesota and back to Wisconsin where my current home is. Left behind after 70 years of ownership from one family, this 1983-built ‘estate’ has become my biggest passion. The work is ongoing, but you can see it below.

phase 1 - before and after

Phase 1 at the estate meant the initial spit-shine/polish-it-up/make-it-livable work. This included but was not limited to gutting the kitchen to the studs, painting (literally) every surface in the house, tearing out all carpeting in the house and replacing it upstairs, while refinishing the original wood floors downstairs.

phase 2 - the drawing room

After living in the house for two years, my plans had started forming for what phase 2 was going to mean, and they were big. Phase 2 is all about bringing character back to this 1893 Victorian, and the work involved (99% completed on my own) has been monumental. I kicked this off in March of 2025, when I transformed the front living room into what I now call ‘the drawing room’. This process was documented heavily in a youtube series, where I gutted the room to the studs in order to re-wire it, re-sinulate it, and bring back so much character that if not for the series, I wouldn’t believe I had done it all. The before and after photos are below.

(coming soon)

phase 2 - upstairs at the estate

I discovered active water damage while working on the drawing room, and it was originating from directly above in the primary bedroom. This kick-started a year-long adventure that involved tearing the front of the house off, replacing and rearranging the windows and balcony door, reconfiguring the layout of the primary bedroom to add a new wall, move two others, relocate the door, tear a wall down to open the stairwell, and more. This process was documented heavily in a youtube series as well that ran for 18 episodes, and wrapped in September of 2026. The before and after photos are below.

(coming soon)

Previous
Previous

the ranch