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The porch faces the pool, and also leads to the family room and sliding glass doors that serve as the entrance to the residence. The prior owner finished the exterior to have a rustic feel. The galvanized roof over the porch was dipped in acid to create a rusted appearance.
The spacious kitchen includes a peninsula island with a sink positioned so there is a clear view out to the pool.
The saltwater pool was added after Beth and Tim moved in. Tim is in the process of using landscape stones found on the property to build a retaining wall on the opposite side of the pool, and to add a small pond with a waterfall to the right of the pool.
The dining room is at one end of the family room. The family room was the only room in the home that was not gutted, but Tim did have to sand the floors which had warped when the home had been vacant for 18 months.
Beth decorates her home for holidays throughout the year. Tim sanded the floor boards, which had warped during the 18 months the home was vacant. What appears to be crown molding around the perimeter of the room ceiling is a galvanized gutter meant for the outside. Painted to blend in with the wood-paneled walls, a rope light hidden inside the gutter provides soft, indirect light at night.
Café doors lead into the laundry room off the center hallway. Beth found the tin decorative panels at a local hardware store.
Tim restored the vintage cast iron, claw foot tub left by the prior owner and installed the ceramic wall tile.
Tim Johnes had a project waiting when he retired in 2020, and it was not as simple as painting a room. It was a total rehab of a 1940s house he and his wife, Beth, had purchased. The redo took a year and a half to complete.
“We had been in a 5,200 square-foot home and wanted to downsize when this property became available,” Beth says.
Beth and Tim Johnes moved into an older farmhouse on a few acres of property. They added a new pool and kitchen but kept the old-fashioned theme of the house. Video by Hillary Levin
While the exterior footprint of the 1,800-square foot home remains unchanged, after Tim finished remodeling the interior almost nothing exists as it was. The living room became a master bedroom, and the front porch, running the width of the house, became a long, narrow walk-in closet. A catch-all room was transformed into a spacious kitchen, and the old kitchen became a pantry and mudroom. The original master bath was transitioned into a laundry room.
“The changes were really just thought out in our head,” Tim says. “We did not put anything on paper. We just envisioned what walls needed to come down or be eliminated, and where doors needed to go.”
They did hire professionals for the plumbing and electrical work, and for the installation of an inground swimming pool just outside the family room. A contractor was also hired to install a 30-foot-by-50-foot pole barn with three garage door bays and an extraordinary amount of extra space.
“I know my limits,” Tim says with a smile.
Otherwise, all the finish work on the home was completed by Tim, who previously had remolded three other homes the couple had owned.
His handiwork included the drywall and finish on the ceilings. “You don’t see any cracks up there, do you?” he inquires, rightfully proud of the professional, smooth ceiling surfaces throughout the home.
For Beth the most important change was to ensure the copper sink in the new kitchen was located with an unobstructed view through the family room out to the new pool. “The plumber and electrician told me the island and kitchen sink would never work where I wanted it,” she remembers. “I finally had to tell them that is where it was going to be, and just do it, and make it work.”
The “new” house includes some creative touches.
The door in the main bedroom is the original front door leading into the living room. Now it opens to a long narrow walk-in closet that was the front porch.
Now the front door is through sliding glass doors on the deck that opens into the family room. (The original front door remains, but now it is the entry to the master bedroom closet.)
It appears as if there were crown molding around the perimeter of the family room ceiling, when in fact it is a galvanized gutter meant for the outside. Painted to blend in with the wood paneled walls, a rope light hidden inside the gutter provides soft, indirect light at night.
A vintage cast iron, claw foot tub left in the residence was rusted and stained until Tim got to work restoring it to its original condition, finishing it with a porcelain-type paint that cost $300 a gallon.
Although the home had been vacant for 18 months, structurally it was in good condition except for the wood floor in the family room where all the floorboards had warped and were cupped. “It took a lot of sanding to get the floor level again,” Tim remembers.
For over 20 years most of the five-acre property had been the Greenery, a well-known commercial plant nursery in Godfrey. Beth says it was fun watching flowers pop up everywhere in the spring and finding plants to move and incorporate into their landscape.
Tim has found landscape stones on the property and has used those to build a pond with a waterfall, and a retaining wall next to the pool.
“We have only been in the house for nine months, but next year we look forward to doing a lot of entertaining around the pool,” Beth says. A sign on the deck in the shape of a surfboard already proclaims “it is a flip flop kind of day.”
To help with their party plans, a future project includes installation of an outdoor kitchen next to the pool, repurposing the stainless-steel commercial kitchen that was inside the home.
Other projects possibly await at the end of a gravel path leading past the home and through a forest of plants and trees now growing wild. The trail ends at a large, empty greenhouse and two small barns, all with unending potential.
Beth and Tim Johnes of Godfrey moved into farmhouse where they've added their own decorative touches, and are still working on it, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
Ages • She is 61, and he is 65.
Occupation • Tim has been in the paint business for 45 years. After retiring and finishing their new home, he recently returned to work as a quality control manager for R.P. Coatings, a manufacturer of protective industrial coatings.
Family • As seen on their license plate displaying “3 J Grlz,” the couple have three daughters and one granddaughter. Cooper is a 10-year-old redbone coonhound with the energy of a 6-month old puppy who, for some reason, enjoys drinking from the inground pool, which is filled with saltwater.
The saltwater pool was added after Beth and Tim moved in. Tim is in the process of using landscape stones found on the property to build a retaining wall on the opposite side of the pool, and to add a small pond with a waterfall to the right of the pool.
Beth and Tim Johnes of Godfrey moved into farmhouse where they've added their own decorative touches, and are still working on it, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
Beth and Tim Johnes' back of the house is now the front entrance with full porch decorated for the season and a built-in salt water swimming pool they added when they moved into the farmhouse in Godfrey, seen, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
An antique piece of furniture in the hallway fits in with the decor in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The backyard garden at Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The porch faces the pool, and also leads to the family room and sliding glass doors that serve as the entrance to the residence. The prior owner finished the exterior to have a rustic feel. The galvanized roof over the porch was dipped in acid to create a rusted appearance.
The spacious kitchen includes a peninsula island with a sink positioned so there is a clear view out to the pool.
Beth and Tim Johnes' added a built-in salt water swimming pool to their home when they moved into the farmhouse in Godfrey, seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The dining room is at one end of the family room. The family room was the only room in the home that was not gutted, but Tim did have to sand the floors which had warped when the home had been vacant for 18 months.
The breakfast room in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse where they've started adding fall decorations, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The dining room in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse where they've added their own decorative touches, seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
Beth decorates her home for holidays throughout the year. Tim sanded the floor boards, which had warped during the 18 months the home was vacant. What appears to be crown molding around the perimeter of the room ceiling is a galvanized gutter meant for the outside. Painted to blend in with the wood-paneled walls, a rope light hidden inside the gutter provides soft, indirect light at night.
A spare bedroom in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse where they've added their own decorative touches, seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
Café doors lead into the laundry room off the center hallway. Beth found the tin decorative panels at a local hardware store.
A guest bedroom in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse where they've added their own decorative touches, seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The door in the main bedroom is the original front door leading into the living room. Now it opens to a long narrow walk-in closet that was the front porch.
The hallway in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse with a view toward the kitchen, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
Tim restored the vintage cast iron, claw foot tub left by the prior owner and installed the ceramic wall tile.
The breakfast room in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse where they've started adding fall decorations, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The kitchen in Beth and Tim Johnes' Godfrey farmhouse was redone by the couple after they moved in, seen Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
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The porch faces the pool, and also leads to the family room and sliding glass doors that serve as the entrance to the residence. The prior owner finished the exterior to have a rustic feel. The galvanized roof over the porch was dipped in acid to create a rusted appearance.
The spacious kitchen includes a peninsula island with a sink positioned so there is a clear view out to the pool.
The saltwater pool was added after Beth and Tim moved in. Tim is in the process of using landscape stones found on the property to build a retaining wall on the opposite side of the pool, and to add a small pond with a waterfall to the right of the pool.
Beth and Tim Johnes of Godfrey moved into farmhouse where they've added their own decorative touches, and are still working on it, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
The dining room is at one end of the family room. The family room was the only room in the home that was not gutted, but Tim did have to sand the floors which had warped when the home had been vacant for 18 months.
Beth decorates her home for holidays throughout the year. Tim sanded the floor boards, which had warped during the 18 months the home was vacant. What appears to be crown molding around the perimeter of the room ceiling is a galvanized gutter meant for the outside. Painted to blend in with the wood-paneled walls, a rope light hidden inside the gutter provides soft, indirect light at night.
Café doors lead into the laundry room off the center hallway. Beth found the tin decorative panels at a local hardware store.
The door in the main bedroom is the original front door leading into the living room. Now it opens to a long narrow walk-in closet that was the front porch.
Tim restored the vintage cast iron, claw foot tub left by the prior owner and installed the ceramic wall tile.
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