Is this a trick question? As a homesteader near the Horicon Marsh, I feel like my entire life is one big DIY project.
We grow our own food, raise our kids, and build community. Very little is pre-packaged in our life. Homesteading is being in a state of constant learning: new skills, fresh challenges, figuring things out as we go. One long series of experiments riddled with dirt, sweat, and grace.
But if I have to pick the most ambitious DIY project, it’s our century farm renovation.
How We Found Our Fixer-Upper
We bought this retired century farm direct from an elderly gentleman who really shouldn’t have been living alone anymore. That detail always hits me hardest—the house and outbuildings told his story before he said a word: sagging floors, peeling paint, leaning sheds, untouched corners for years. It’s heartbreaking how someone can quietly tolerate an increasingly difficult life until clutter and inconveniences feel normal.
Truth be told, I was reluctant to take on something of this magnitude. I was pregnant when we bought the property in May 2023, and we gave birth and cared for a newborn while gutting the house. My husband saw the potential first: the grand century farm history, an established apple orchard out back, that stone building one previous owner built stone-by-stone over years. I slowly fell for its charm though.
DIY Property Cleanup: The Early Days
This homestead renovation kicked off with multiple dumpsters and serious elbow grease. And we had huge help from family who pitched in by cleaning inside and outside, gutting the upstairs, drywalling, and painting. A project this big would be impossible to tackle alone.
Some days it was just hauling—load after load of scrap metal from the barn and yard. We’d sift trash from treasure: broken tools, mystery parts, an old milk can a previous owner painted with a beautiful farm scene. Each dump run made the place feel lighter, easier to breathe.
We patched dilapidated outbuildings and tamed overgrown grass. Slowly, this century farm started showing its grand history.
Gutting the Victorian Farmhouse (While Living Here)
Inside, we gutted the upstairs. We ripped out lath and plaster, those weird tiny rooms, and bizarre “fixes.” As we did so, we uncovered the beautiful Victorian farmhouse bones.
All while raising little kids (including that newborn!) and working our day jobs.
My husband handles the heavy DIY homestead projects: hauling, demo, repairs, and those endless “little jobs” that are never little. To us, it makes perfect sense. He loves fixing things, which has been perfect for reviving this tired place. I’ve managed kids, work, and keeping our half-gutted household running.
3 Years In: Where We Stand
Three years into this century farm renovation (bought May 2023), two-thirds of the upstairs is done. Every finished room feels like a small miracle. I still pause in doorways thinking, “Remember what this looked like?”
What’s Next: Future DIY Projects
Still ahead:
- Finish the upstairs for a more cohesive feel
- Remove the downstairs drop ceiling, uncover tall Victorian ceilings
- Decide what to do with the old barn foundation (it’s caving in on itself). Do we restore or tear down?
- Construct an outside workshop for my husband’s impressive collection of tools and equipment
What Living Through Renovation Teaches You
If I step back and think of it all, it’s incredibly overwhelming. We’re years in, and still have years left. But here’s the thing about ambitious DIY projects you live inside: they grow you while you’re working on them.
We’ve learned patience, because nothing happens as quickly as we hope. We’ve learned teamwork, because we each bring different strengths to the table. We’ve learned to spot progress in inches instead of miles: a cleared fenceline, a finished room, a barn corner that no longer feels dangerous.
Most of all, we’ve learned that “ambitious” doesn’t always mean flashy or fast. Sometimes it looks like showing up for the same project, day after day, year after year, believing that it’s worth the time, the money, and the heart it requires.
So yes, our Victorian farmhouse and century farm renovation is the most ambitious DIY homestead project we’ve ever undertaken.
But it’s also the one that’s slowly shaping us into the kind of people who can see beauty in broken things and are stubborn enough to try to fix them.
What’s YOUR most ambitious DIY? Tell me below! 🛠️
LIKE if you’ve tackled big homestead renovation projects! SHARE with a friend who can relate! 🏡✨
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