A Mississippi Home That Gave New Life to an Old Farmhouse

When I was young, I had a spiral-bound notebook containing all my future house dreams. There was a picture of a new-build mansion, pages dedicated to each room, and collages of details — analog Pinterest, if you will. Though my taste has definitely matured, I still wish I could sketch out my dreams, collage some pieces together, and then transform them into a reality. That’s exactly what Natalie and Tim Hamm did (and coincidentally, their home is pretty darn close to my dream home!).

When Tim and Natalie Hamm were a young married couple, necessity led to creativity, Natalie says. “With an empty home and a growing family, I began designing pieces of furniture that Tim could build to furnish our 1,200-square-foot rental. We both enjoyed it so much, it inspired our business —  Hammmade Furniture.” At the time, Tim was studying engineering at University of Mississippi, but once he graduated, the couple decided to pursue their dream of owning their own furniture business full-time.

By then, they had grown to a family of six, so the idea of more space — and, in particular, remodeling a home — became more appealing. “[Remodeling an old home is] similar to what we do with furniture. We’d get calls to tear down old barns, churches and homes. We were fascinated by the beauty of these old structures and the thought of saving what seemed long gone and giving it a second chance.”

They purchased 70 acres in the country to build a workshop to expand Hammmade, and in 2014, they got word that a house built in the 1800s was being torn down to expand church property. “We spent days trying to figure out a way to move it on our land. It wasn’t possible, so we decided to salvage everything possible from trim, to shiplap and flooring, to build a farmhouse on our land.” Natalie drew her dream plans on a sheet of paper, and Tim made the more official plans on Google SketchUp. Then they spent the next year building their new farmhouse in Oxford, MS. Natalie looks back, “It’s been an exciting process, and it makes us appreciate every step 100 times more.” —Quelcy

Photography by Ashleigh Coleman

Image Above: The Hamm farmhouse proved to be a family effort. Natalie didn’t want the TV to be the focal point of the living room, so they built a reclaimed shiplap cabinet to hide it when not in use. She designed the coffee table, and Tim built it. She designed the pendant, and her son Brooks helped her to build it. All the window trim was salvaged from the 1800s home.

from Design*Sponge http://www.designsponge.com/2017/10/a-mississippi-home-that-gave-new-life-to-an-old-farmhouse.html

from Home Improvment http://notelocreesnitu.tumblr.com/post/166256793429