City Girl Meets Country Girl: The Homestead

So the title of this entry just makes me smile from ear to ear. Ever since reading Little House on the Prairie as a girl, I have always secretly dreamed of living in the country, working the land, having animals, making everything from scratch, living a simple life...ok, maybe not all that but the open land and animals part was always really cool to me. Never in a million years did this city girl from one of the largest cities in the US think that she would be living in middle American on a small family farm. But it happened and boy are we embracing it. Now, I know that we aren't farming full time anymore but we are so lucky to be living out with our family and experiencing life in the country. We had always hoped and prayed that we would be lead back to Knox County to be with family and experience a softer, slower and more simple life. When we finally made the decision to make the BIG move, we knew that we wanted to build our own home on the Hinkle homestead and in early November, we broke ground.

The plan is simple, a square box, on top of a square box on top of square box. Translation, the more simple the design, the cheaper to build. Every bump out, corner, and extension costs money, lots of money. So we had a grand idea for what we were going to build and then realized how much that grand idea would cost and took it back to the basics. Walkout basement, first floor and a second floor built into the roof (bonus square footage). The cost to build is crazy these days. They say to estimate about $120 a square foot and that is for a pretty basic house. YIKES! Well, we were hoping for a 2,000 square foot house so you do the math. Thankfully, our contractor is AMAZING and is also family so we are able to work with him on getting the exact right house for our budget. Not to mention that he is allowing us to help him build it. Thanks Andy!

So here is the breakdown on what we are building:
*Walkout basement that will be unfinished for now but will have the possibility of another bedroom, family room and full bath. It is all open now and I see lots of bike riding, running and craziness happening down there during the winter months and on days where the weather isn't so great.
*First floor - family room, 1/2 bath, kitchen and dining room, mud/laundry room and master bedroom with a full bath
*Second floor - two bedrooms, loft and full bath.

Oh and did I mention an awesome porch on the front. Have to have some place to rock and relax on warm summer nights. We had hoped for a full wrap around porch but that is an "on hold" project just like a garage for future funds. So instead of describing how the process has gone, I hope you enjoy just a few snapshots of the Hinkle Homestead. We are projected to be finished by end of April and I can't wait for it to be here. With the exterior almost complete, it is time now to focus on the inside and all the fun details for each room. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures.