The Arnolds’ Farmhouse Restoration

A full-scale renovation in the country

When Gena and Gary Arnold began remodeling their farmhouse, friends saw the extent of the work being done and suggested they just tear down and start over from scratch.

“People said we were nuts,” Gena said. “But we knew how solid this house was. We knew what we had. I don’t want a new house.”

So while their freshly renovated home in the community of Womack, near Clifton, is not technically new, it looks nothing like the 1,500-square-foot farmhouse they bought in 2004. They added 24 feet to the depth of the house and now have about 3,100 square feet of livable space. They also added a 10-foot-wide porch to three sides of the house. The new kitchen is about three times the size of the previous one and contains an island with a gorgeous butcher-block top that is 9 feet long.

The project was a collaboration between the Arnolds and Jonathan Grant, owner and president of Red Truck Renovations in Waco, and his crew, which includes designer and project manager, Kelly Byrd. Gena and Grant met in 2010, when she hired him for a bathroom renovation that included removing a claw-foot bathtub and replacing it with a walk-in shower tall enough to fit Gary, who is 6-foot-6.

“I told Jonathan at the time of the bathroom renovation, ‘One day, I want to enlarge and remodel the rest,’” Gena said…

By Kevin Tankersley
Find the full article on page 94 of the March 2013 Wacoan magazine