Couple Turns Three-Room Shanty into Home, 1936

“How We Remodeled a Tenant House for Our Home” by Mrs. Roy Johnson, Home Demonstration Club Member, Johnston County, as published in the December, 1936, issue of Carolina Co-operator

When the depression hit us we went back to the old homestead. Our share of the property consisted of 77 acres of land and a three-room shanty which even the tenants had abandoned. It was nothing but floors and walls. When my husband saw it, he said, “Surely we can’t possibly live here.” But I felt that what had to be done could be done.

Mrs. Roosevelt said on a radio talk recently that “in the country a man and a woman have to be Jack of all trades” so this is the story of the house that Jack and Jill built.

Convenient Home

We began by clearing away weeds and trash. We had little money so we secured lumber from an old schoolhouse for floors, walls, ceilings, etc. By connecting the main room with a detached kitch3en we added a pantry and built on two porches. Afterwards we added a second bedroom on one of the porches. Now our home is a four-room house—living room and dining room combined, two bedrooms, kitchen, and pantry. Although I have lived in several good homes, none were as convenient. A little money, much thought, a great deal of planning, and hard work have made this home.

Outside Decoration

While the men were working on the house, I began on the yard. No one had lived there for years and you can imagine the amount of rubbish that had accumulated. We did have two lovely old elms. I brought native rocks to stop the soil from washing and planted magnolia, dogwood, crepe myrtle, cedar, willow, Japanese quince, boxwood, native myrtle, and other trees and shrubs. These are arranged in informal groupings, in borders, and in the corners of the yard to fit in with the natural setting of woods and hills. Low shrubs were put around the edge of the house to hide the lack of underpinning.

Pool

As the back of our yard slopes gradually down to the woods, we decided to build a pool in a setting of wild flowers and shrubs. We gathered rocks from a nearby spring and laid off an irregular pool, sunk these in cement walls,making a shelf for shallow water plants and a deeper place for fish and lilies. Miss Everett, the Johnston County Home Agent, came to see us when the iris, dogwood, and daffodils were in bloom and she says she never saw a more natural setting for a pool.

Revolutionized Furniture

I recently entered a living room contest sponsored by our County Council. As there were only two small windows in my living room, we cut another on the other side of the fireplace. I wanted soft coral for the walls and woodwork so I used an ivory base paint, tinting it with Venetian red and brown. The floors I stained a soft brown with oil and turpentine. I attended a demonstration on slip covering and there gained more ideas for making my old chairs fit into the scheme and with the help of the home agent I took some old bed quilts and pretty chintz and revolutionized an old wicker suite.

The rest of the furniture is made up of odds and ends, picked up and refinished. I ripped the veneered top of an old desk which was housed in my husband’s garage and found solid oak underneath. This I finished to match an old mahogany chest of drawers. For the tiny, narrow windows I used ivory pongee with ball fringe for curtains and pushed them to the side to let in all the light ad make the window appear larger. Rag rugs and ladder back chairs add t the quaintness of the room while lamps, candlesticks, white pottery, and pots of ivy add to its attractiveness.

Cozy and Homelike

Home demonstration club women visited my home recently on a county tour of remodeled homes, and I was delighted to hear them exclaim over the effect and how cozy and homelike it was. My home agent says that women report they were more impressed with our little home than any other because it shows what can be done with little money, a lot of imagination, good taste, and hard work.