It has been my dream for quite some time to find a place in the Texas Hill Country where my family could gather for special memories.  After exploring several areas, in January 2016, a place showed up on Zillow.com that actually seemed to tick all the boxes of what we were looking for.  I called our realtor to schedule an appointment for the next day, and as soon as I walked into the dining room and gazed out the large windows to the panoramic views of Devil’s Backbone, I knew this was the place I wanted to spend time with my family.  We put in an offer the next day.  With a competing offer, our realtor asked us to write a letter to the seller to introduce ourselves and explain why we wanted to purchase the land.  We were thrilled to find out our offer was accepted.  While we were waiting for the property closing, we brought in an interior designer (our daughter) to give us advice on how to remodel this home that needed much attention.  On the way to tour the home, I cautioned her to look at the potential of the home, not just its current state.  She reminded me that is her job!  Well, after spending 2 hours examining the home, her response was to “run away”.  She said this will take more time and money that you ever imagined.   Dismayed at what we may have gotten ourselves into, we plodded ahead.

In March, we closed on the home, hired a contractor to oversee the remodeling and engaged our interior designer to help us with the vision for the design and how to furnish the home.  Because we knew we ultimately wanted to rent the home for vacations while we were not using it, we also consulted a property management service for their advice on the remodeling plans.

The first order of business was to tear down a small guest home that the contractor said was not worth repairing and to move a storage shed across the road to open up the views of the scenic hill country.  This allowed us to have a line of sight from our home to the majestic 250-year-old century oak tree on the edge of the field.  We cleaned up trash debris, cleared out the overgrown garden area and began removing piles of cut cedar trees.  Then, we relocated the original outhouse next to the pole barn.

Over the next 6 months, we focused on the exterior of the home by replacing the siding with HardiPlank, and adding new windows, doors, cedar columns and a backyard deck.  The interior remodel was extensive with the bathrooms being redone, the kitchen updated, new lighting fixtures added, and almost every surface was repainted.  We installed a new air conditioning system, water heater, water softener and electrical systems.  Landscaping was added to improve the aesthetics and drainage at the front of the home.  I spent hours shopping on Craigslist and in stores for furniture, bedding and décor to furnish the home on a budget.  Once we ran out of money, my handy husband began to tackle some of the outside projects himself  including building a new well house.  Just like the fixer upper reality shows, we encountered unforeseen problems and difficulties that extended our time frame and emptied our pocketbooks.  But the blessings included having all our children helping us in the process as we began to fall in love with the property and the nearby town of Wimberley!  At last, it is finished and we are ready to for our vacation rental property to be advertised.

If you are looking for a place to stay on The Road Les Traveled to, check out our listing at:

https://www.hillsoftexaslodging.com/fischer-farm-house

The contemporary rustic farmhouse design with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms provides a relaxing place for large families to hangout out on the front porch or backyard deck and explore the 17 acres.  It is only a fifteen-minute drive into Wimberley or Canyon Lake.  My blog on Wimberley talks about the famous swimming holes just a short drive from our home:

Wimberley-Glamping in the Texas Hill Country

Centered in the middle of the Texas Hill Country and only an hour from Austin and San Antonio, there are plenty of daytrips you can make from the home including Fredericksburg, Johnson City, New Braunfels, Gruene, San Marcos, Luckenbach, and Dripping Springs.  Hope you can come enjoy the views!