I’ve been wanting to give the old Bedlam Farm a good cleaning since we moved out last fall. Somehow we didn’t get around to it till today. Jon and I filled the car with the vacuum, a broom and mop, paper towels, rags and sponges and floor, counter and glass cleaners. We packed a lunch and the three dogs planning to spend the day at the Old Bedlam Farm. It was another cold and rainy day and I was afraid it was going to be depressing to be at the house we love so much which hasn’t sold after being on the market for over a year. I cried a little when we sat on the porch overlooking my Studio Barn and the breathtaking view of the Black Creek Valley, eating cold pizza and salad for lunch.
But before and after lunch as I was mopping the floors and dusting the moldings, I was focused and in the moment. I wiped cobwebs from the walls were pictures and furniture used to be. I scrubbed the toilets and refrigerator while Jon vacuumed and pulled weeds from the slate walkway.
And while Jon took pictures, I rearranged furniture and re-hung pictures. This is what really drove me. Kristen, our Real Estate Agent suggested we leave some furniture in the house so it wouldn’t look barren. We didn’t have room for all of it in the new house anyway, so we left the house with a smattering of furniture. And today, after cleaning each room, I decorated it with a chair or table or hung a picture on the wall. This was the fun part, the creative part, the part that made the cleaning bearable. I like the satisfaction of a clean house, but I don’t like actually cleaning. Making each room look the best it could with the small amount of furniture I had to work with, for me, that’s completely fun and fulfilling.
I put the chair or table or picture in each room so some of it was visible from the door way, as if inviting you into the room. Hopefully enticing whoever comes through the house to imagine the possibilities.
When we left the house I had more energy and felt better than when we got there. Jon and I did more that just clean the house today. We dressed it up and aired it out. Brushed lint from it’s collar and sprinkled fairy dust in it’s hair.
It looks beautiful Maria ~ These pictures make it real for us all! I hate cleaning too, but like you I appreciate a clean house. You’ve made it wonderful ~ someone will come and make it theirs.
i’ve said it before..but throw a couple more comfy chairs in that beautiful living room and a couple of beds upstairs, and you’ve got yourself a rentable vacation home. To sit on the porch and take in that view, roam around Vermont, would be so sweet. I know you want to sell, but I just paid someone a lot of money to use their very old, very beat up country cabin so I could have a view and escape this city. I’d rent it in a heartbeat, I bet lots of folks would, it’s like Graceland to your readers 🙂
Oh Tess, that actually isn’t a bad idea, if it comes to that.
beautiful…. each room looks warm and inviting. the artist’s touch is evident and although sparcely furnished, the home has a full heart.
Thank you for sharing those pictures with us, it looks very inviting and welcoming to me. I’ll ask in my prayers for you to have success in selling Bedlam Farm very shortly. It needs a family to love it.
It does need a family to love it Bonnie. I’m sure they’re on their way.
Thanks for sharing your pictures. How I wish I could see it and walk the path with my dog. It must have been a wonderful place to live. Soon someone will make it their own.
It looks so lovely, Maria. Sending good thoughts your way.
Very inviting spaces, Maria. Enjoy your day!
Maria, I LOVE what you did! The photos look great! I think a little airing out, spring cleaning, and rearranging will do the trick! I’m wondering if people have been looking at the farm at a good rate or just a few? Spring is always when this kind of thing picks up, so let’s all pray that THIS spring will bring the perfect buyer for your beloved old BF!!! ~Robin
Just a few Robin, but it’s my experience that one person comes along and they just want it. Sometimes it just takes longer than we would want it to.
I really like Tess’ idea also Maria. I know it might be a hassle to rent it, but who knows, maybe a renter would become a buyer! I love the crazy quilt and the statue of the Blessed Mother.