My Dutch husband lived and studied in Rotterdam, one of the largest harbors in the world, and I came from a 40,000 population Louisiana city to join him in 1979.
Almost 10 years later we bought a really old Dutch farmhouse and took on the task of renovating it into our home for the three of us. Most of the reno was done by “professionals” using our plans, but the job took about eight years of our lives and much of our salaries and our nerves to complete. When we (it) were finished, we were proud and content that we had done what we could to preserve a piece of Dutch history and make a home that we thought would be our “forever”home. Of course, we added our special color schemes and updated insulation standards to meet most needs, but we left much of the character and charm of a Dutch farmhouse from a whole other time period.
When we moved into the farmhouse, the house was connected to the animal/cow stall and actually still housed a few cows until the farmer could move them to their new dwelling on the other side of the village Zoeterwoude . We left the house connected that way, but we gutted the stall (stinky😷) and transformed it into our great room.
The working farmer who sold the one acre plot and farmhouse and sheds to us had lived there with his wife and three children and many cows.They had only one toilet which was located in the hall connecting the stall with the house, and there was only one shower stall next door to that. That was it for bathrooms! Downstairs there was a small kitchen with meagre appliances and a cramped space for a table and chairs, a minuscule living room, a “master”🙄 bedroom and a very tiny bedroom and closet. In the beginning the tight space was quite cozy, but we jumped right in and started making changes.
One of the first things we did was to add a complete bathroom upstairs, since there were three tiny bedrooms up there situated over the living quarters downstairs. Even though we had to climb up a very steep and narrow wooden staircase to get up to those bedrooms, at least we had room for storage and the occasional visitor.
Also, another upgrade was a heating system in the house. The large space heater in the tiny living room just did not keep out the damp and cold. When the new heating apparatus got going, then the house began drying out. And so did the stink. Or maybe I just got used to it.🤷🏼♀️ Linda