It wasn't an easy decision to completely change our life path and become savers of a stately historic home. Or, was it?
We had just completed a beautiful great room addition to augment the original farm house structure on our Keene property. We had redecorated, and organized, and everything was finally in its place. Literally, the dust had started to settle. On top of that, we now had one full season in the field and sort of figured out how to start a flower farm.
But then, one day, I was pursuing one of my hobbies - trolling the real estate listings. And there she was. That was the beginning of the end.
Graham and I have always been attracted to old, character homes in need of love. Places we could transform, bring back to glory, make happy again (homes have souls after all). We've had our share of fixer projects, but one on this scale, with this provenance, was different.
So while we analyzed the pros and cons of leaving behind our retreat and budding flower farm, and of uprooting our family, the decision was really already made. #MillarHouse1857 called our name.
She was built by Scottish immigrants, Frederick and Isabella Millar in 1857 as a bucolic estate with livestock and some farmland and a house fashioned in a refined elegant Georgian or Neo Classical style.
And for bonus points, Millar House sits in the same small town where Graham grew up. You never quite know where life will take you. And our journey, surprisingly, took us back – back home to Port Dover, Ontario.
So, that's why we sold the farm. The cool thing about dreams is that you can have more than one.
Take a first look inside our new passion project.
