Mod Lodge Stylin' - Rambling Ranch

Wow! It has been a long time since I've seen you my blog friends. This has been a busy, hot summer. I do believe this summer has been as long as our past winter and to tell you the truth, I would prefer 28 inches of snow to 100+ degree weather any day! Thankfully, today is cooler and we got some much needed rain. I hope this is a sign that the heat wave has broken and not just a teaser.

It has been four years today that we moved from our 1920's arts and crafts home in the city to our 1970's ranch in the country. We picked this property, not for the house, but for the 20 wooded acres, stocked pond, large garden area, wildlife, and 1 1/2 acre fenced yard for the dogs. I actually could not remember any details of the inside of the house when we got back home but we placed an offer on it anyway. I did not warmly embrace the ranch style house once we moved here - it was too new, too boring, too small. I absolutely loved the history of our old home and the style. Four years later, my attitude has changed. It has been fun trying to bring this place into our mod lodge style. We have made some changes to suit our lifestyle - some bigger than others. Here are just a few...

Hammered Copper Farmhouse Sink

We always wanted a farmhouse sink even when we lived in the old house. We grow a lot of vegetables (80 tomato plants out this year) and can a lot, too, so this type sink is perfect for rinsing and cutting large quantities. I picked the copper, not only for its rustic charm, but because it is the most anti-bacterial material and the hammered look does not show any dents or marks. If you are interested in a copper sink, I suggest you shop around. I found this at the eBay store for Copper Depot for about half the price they were charging at some of the large home improvement retail chains. And we have a guy who works with my husband that does construction projects on the side so we got a good deal on the installation. This picture is before we put in the vintage 1960's tile back splash and replaced all the hardware on the cabinets - I'll show that to you some day (when the kitchen is clean - it is canning season). Eventually I would like to replace the counter tops, too.

Sun room with bamboo floor & propane fireplace

When we moved into our house, the sun room had no heating or air conditioning and it was carpeted. Who builds a sun room and puts carpet in it? I mean, seriously. We installed a propane fireplace (ProCom heater) the first winter we were here for two reasons - we needed heat in this room because we use it all year round; and because our house is all electric, we wanted an alternative source of heating just in case. One of the best investments we made - we really enjoy having it and it gives us a little cozy feel without the hassle of chopping wood (although we have plenty of wood we could chop). Again, I shopped around for the fireplace and again, I think I got this one on eBay (or maybe it was Northern Tool). Then, this past March, we finally tore out all the carpet and put in the bamboo floors. We chose a dark, wide plank because the walls are a lighter paneling and we thought it would contrast nicely. The flooring came from Lumber Liquidators. Our guy installed it, too. I bought a couple of cowhide rugs at World Market to further enhance the mod lodge style. This picture, obviously, was taken before we put all the furniture back in the room.

A small change I have made to the front of the house is to purchase this Ranchero house numbers kit from Crestview Doors. I read about them on Retro Renovation, a blog that promotes loving the house you're in! Our place did not have any house numbers on it and I had been looking for something for over three years that suited the style and me. When I saw this, I knew I had to have it! Someday, I would like to replace the front door. Maybe that will be our next home improvement project - I better call the guy!