Alright, I figured I would have posted pictures of our home since staining the ENTIRE THING but farm life is a busy life. I couldn’t find the time with all the ongoing projects and I was really hoping we would be completely finished with the staining project before taking final photos but I can’t hold out on you any longer it seems. After three long weeks of daily workers repairing and staining our home and watching our bank account dwindle before our eyes, we finally decided to take a break and plan on staining the porch floors and steps ourselves. Since the porch floors have been treated with Bora Care, we feel confident we can tackle the project of staining the floors and steps to keep a little extra dough in our pocket for other projects.

Even though this is a work in progress, I’m proud to share with you the new and improved Cypress Bayou Farm.

Now, let’s turn the clock back a bit. Remember this house?

I can hear your loud gasp through cyberspace! I’m gasping right along with you. The Farrell Calhoun Cape Cod Grey and Western White semi-transparent stain gave our home a much needed face lift. I didn’t even know it needed one but I’m sure happy with the results. We selected Cape Code Grey for the board and batten siding and Western White on all posts, ceilings and railings.

When we purchased this home, we fell in love with the rustic wood and couldn’t imagine changing it. Unfortunately, after the extensive termite discovery, we didn’t have a choice but to protect the wood and staining was the best recommendation. Looking at photos of the original house, the weathered wood was very dark but the colors we chose has brought life to this house.  It truly is a breath of fresh air. You know you did a great job when people at the local  Tri-Parish Co-Op compliment the updates to your home.

Since this is a semi-transparent stain, the wood grain and texture has already started to seep through. The colors are very vibrant and bold at first but as time marches on, the weathered look we fell in love with initially will begin to show its face again. Some sides of the house may be more weathered than others because of the sun but I adore it all the same.

Please ignore the sporadically placed drainage rock and the tall grass. We are in the process of improving drainage issues around the house and the grass won’t dry out from all the rain to cut it. The drainage rock project took priority when we started having water drain under the house but that’s for an entirely separate blog post.

I’m thrilled we splurged on the labor costs and stained the ceilings Western White to match the posts and railings. It offsets the Cape Cod Grey beautifully and brings the light up to the ceiling. With the new white windows, the subtle white posts, railings and ceilings tie it all together.

As you can see, I have begun adding a few items here and there on the back porch. The daybed is from World Market which I originally bought for my craft room in the old house. Since Andrew’s antique childhood bed is in the guest/craft room now, I re-purposed the daybed as a perfect back porch lounger. I kept the same temperpedic mattress as I used inside and covered it with a waterproof mattress cover. I have literally fallen asleep on the back porch. Now that’s comfortable.

I was also able to find that perfect outdoor rug on Amazon by Fab Habitat. The design is Tangier in Celery and White and it’s reversible! These rugs are made out of brightly colored woven poly propylene straws. If they get dirty from being outside, you simply wash them clean. These rugs are essentially worry-free.

I do have BIG landscaping plans for this back porch area and yes, some drainage rock will be involved. Although it would have been nice to purchase a home with more landscaping, I see it as a blank canvas and my creative mind starts churning immediately. I foresee a large flowerbed and quaint walkway for this sweet spot. I yearn to dig in the soil and plant new life around the farm since I missed the spring planting season this year. I will certainly be back with a gusto next year! If you have a minute, check out the garden haven I left behind in Prairieville here.

In other farm news, we have rescued yet ANOTHER animal at Cypress Bayou Farm. If you follow me on Instagram, some of you have already met our sweet girl Gypsy. Her name fits her true wanderer spirit. Our painter Richard is actually the one that named her Gypsy after she walked up one day while they were working on the house. Each morning they would arrive to work, she would stroll on over to greet them. She would roam from place to place, never settling in one spot for too long and Gypsy, well, sort of stuck.

We began noticing she was hanging around more and more and into the night. At that point, we decided to start feeding her and everyone knows, once you feed them, they become yours. She is absolutely the sweetest addition to the farm family.

You will find her either sleeping on the back porch daybed which she has apparently claimed as her new dog bed or under the the side porch steps.

We thought about bringing her inside but she is a natural farm dog. I couldn’t see her being happier anywhere else but outside.

She rolls around in the hay every morning during the routine chores and it never gets old. Gypsy fits in perfectly and has become Andrew’s right hand woman around the property.

Cypress Bayou Farm currently consists of 1 rescue horse, 2 rescue hogs and 3 rescue dogs. Each month here on the farm certainly brings more surprises, more projects to cross off the list and more joy to life.

You can wander along with me by following the blog in the side bar, on Instagram or Facebook.

Until next time…