As the saying goes, never judge a book by it’s cover. But, it was hard not to when the exterior of a potential home was so distressed. To say it held charm was an understatement.
After taking some time to talk it over we contacted a realtor. He let us in the house and from there our hearts fell more in love with the property. Only this time, it was the house that was stirring our hearts.
Remember my condition? I had said to Brooks,
“I am not interested in the house unless we can some how shut off the upstairs and only live in the downstairs. The upstairs can be used for storage unless the Lord should give us like 10 kids.”
Well, as we walked through the interior, we found that the previous owners had already made some efforts to close off the upstairs, living only in the downstairs. My condition had been met which means we were now a little more interested in the house.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it to happen that way. Staircases are almost always in a center hallway or somewhere central in a home. But, this place was different. The stairs fold along an exterior wall. I couldn’t believe it.
The inside of the house (downstairs anyways) was jaw dropping. By our standards, the bottom half of the house was very much livable. Still needed some repairs but overall definitely not teardown condition.
What really peaked our interest in saving the home was this…
Center Hallway
The grand, center hallway. Oh my… can you see the potential????
On the way back from exploring the interior, Brooks says to me,
“You know what I can see in that house??? Our Christmas tree in the grand hallway.”
Me: …..”Ok…. wait what!?!?!” …..
I mean, just as smooth and cool as a guy could say it, he spoke those words. He could see the potential, too.
The front and back of the house each boast a double front door with transom and sidelight windows.
Double front door with transom and sidelight windows.
The layout both up and downstairs consists of a large center hallway with two primary rooms on each side. One full bath up and down.
Kitchen
Aside from the grand hallway, we found most of the downstairs to be in good shape. The upstairs had been gutted and it was obvious that someone had begun to love on this house.
With the upstairs having been gutted, many of the building materials were still available.
Each room has a chimney serving as either a fireplace or space for a wood stove.
There is a chimney in every single room (except bathrooms and hallways of course). Each chimney serves as either a fireplace or a place for a wood stove.
On a very positive note, the chimneys have been completely renovated! Yea!
Many of the windows are missing and would need to be repaired, replaced or found somewhere in the left behind contents of the home (there were lots of building materials and such throughout the house from the previous “adventurous renovators”).
Pantry in the kitchen.
With all that said, we could see the potential for sure. We could envision it. We BOTH could see it… which never happens.
But, the house was simply too big. Even with the upstairs shut off, the overall size of the house was 4000 sq ft and would be such a big undertaking.
Is this really what we wanted? We still loved the land and weren’t scared off by the renovations. It was the size that threw us through a loop.
We had to take more time to pray and discuss. So, that’s what we did…
Front elevation of the home shows the disarray of the porch and missing windows shuttered in.
I cannot wait to see the restored home! So much love, blood sweat and tears until then but what a wonderful thing to bring new life to an old home which has many stories to tell. Perhaps you will uncover some on your journey!
Thank you, Sarah! We are excited about getting started. We still have lots to do first, though. We have to get some consultants out there to make sure the structure is sound and we aren’t missing anything. We don’t foresee any hiccups but ya never know! 😀 Feel free to subscribe to the blog to see the progress!
Absolutely wonderful!
Hi I came across this as I was looking for my Frayser Families in the Cumberland County area and my 4th Great Uncle William A Frayser, I think was orginal owner as he had the post office and Frayser Tavern out of this. was the home built in 1840s? And I have a little information from the Cumberland County Library on him and that there is a cemetery on property? Where they are buried, but i might be wrong, I know the directions on this I got from the library says route 13, past Frenchs store, I am over excited if this is the place and seeing the inside is wonderful. And to be honest I don’t know how old this post is hopefully i will hear back from you as I live in Idaho and curious about the cemetery and some way to have some pictures of it, Thank you Amy Hall
Good morning, Amy! You’re close! Our property is the neighboring one from the Frayzer Tavern. That building is no longer standing but the cemetery is still there. They had a dedication of it back in 2008 which my neighbor who owns the property attended. She has some pics of the dedication pamphlet that I can send you. Can you send me an email to thornebrookfarmsva@gmail.com?
Our house served as the Sunnyside post office from around 1859-1956? I think prior to that it was at the Frayzer Tavern. The Frazyer property and the Guthrie Property (which mine) is currently split by Route 621 – Brook Hill Road. The railroad ran in front of the properties somewhat where current Old Buckingham Road is established. I think technically it ran only slightly North of the current roadway? Not sure on that detail.