A country drive through the wide open plains of Hill County, just southeast of Hillsboro, leads to a Kentucky-style farmhouse with equally wide open spaces. With sprawling green fields, a creek, plentiful oak trees and even a fruit orchard, the home is surrounded by an expansive white iron fence with “RC Homestead” on the entrance gate — named for owners Robert and Carol Moore.
The Moores, who are from nearby Abbott, had been looking for a home that had “just the right footprint” — large enough to hold their entire family when kids came back from college or brought their future families to stay for holidays.
“We host all of the family events because our central location in Abbott,” Carol Moore said. “We would have 30 plus people at the house all the time. And with college kids coming home and the kids bringing in their significant others home, we just needed more space.”
They discovered the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home with a guest apartment and surrounding acreage in Bynum as a distressed property in 2019. It was built in 2008, but fell into disrepair, so they got the 79-acre property for a steal, Moore said.
They planned to renovate the home and gradually make it their own — but then COVID-19 struck. When the house suddenly filled with college kids and family trying to escape pandemic closures, the necessary renovations became obvious. That’s when the Moores hired Palmer Davis Design in Waco to create welcoming spaces that fit a lot of people.
“We’re all about family first,” Moore said. “But we also have to be able to function.”
Inside the heavy white oak and hammered glass front door, friends and family are welcomed to the homestead in an open, airy entryway with newly refurbished floors of luxury vinyl tile and plank.
“It is very durable, and we know we’re humble enough to know that’s what we need with all the kids and critters, “ Moore said. “We had them come put this in before we moved in.”
To the right of the entryway is the spacious dining room with a massive tiger oak dining table purchased from Dale Dennis in West — that now seats 22.
“It’s so big that it’s not going to fit a lot of homes,” Moore said. “It has the original leaves and we had them make four more leaves so that we can stretch it all the way out and get everybody around the table.”
Another special piece of furniture is Robert’s mother’s buffet.
“That is definitely a member of the family,” Moore said. “It was in their house on the mountain in Cranfills Gap. We just love it because you can store so much in it. We love to put desserts or punch bowls here.”
The entryway then opens into a great room and kitchen combo — which is where the wide open spaces of the Moore’s home really take shape.
“Initially, there was a full wall here that kind of angled in and so it was pretty closed off,” said Presley Cortez of Palmer Davis Design. “Carol had told us they love to host, have dinner parties and have family over. So, we thought, ‘What can we do in here to make it more open?’”
They took the wall down and added a white oak beam that seamlessly separates the kitchen and great room, while leaving them quite open to one another.
In the kitchen, a massive stained white oak island topped with leathered quartzite and equipped with a farmhouse sink is the focal point of the space and must be every host’s dream. To update the kitchen, Palmer Davis installed a custom tarnished metal range hood, quartzite countertops, backsplash and custom cabinetry.
Brass fixtures throughout the space and Monogram appliances — like the panel ready refrigerator and stand-alone ice maker — keep the high-end look of this kitchen going from end to end.
In the breakfast area, another custom piece of cabinetry was added where Moore keeps her treasured Aggie plates.
“Those Texas A&M plates were given to me by Ralph White, who was the county engineer in Waco for a long time,” Moore said. “He and his wife never had children, and they kind of adopted me as a daughter. I met them at Waco A&M club event where they were giving away scholarships. Ralph had bought the plates in 1947, and they’re the original set that were designed by the architecture students.”
Just across the kitchen — into the great room — a large fireplace takes center stage. The same white quartzite from the kitchen was added around the fireplace and a white oak mantel was installed, effortlessly tying the rooms together.
A true showpiece, the Moores own a meticulously-restored 1925 William Knabe piano on which their children learned to play.
“My father-in-law bought that for, I think, $2,500,” Moore said. “The ones from the ‘20s are known for being worthy of the expensive restoration because of the wood that was used and the full size harp on the inside. During the depression, cheaper wood was used and full size harps weren’t in there. So we decided it was worthy of restoring. All four kids played piano, and two of them still try.”
A set of National Audubon Society prints hangs on the wall facing the outdoors, framed by Studio Gallery.
“Robert’s family loves birds,” Moore said. “His dad loves birds, and Robert loves them, too. We have the whole portfolio, and our daughter has framed some and have them in her house. We wanted to incorporate them to bring the nature inside.”
Off the great room, what used to be a screened-in porch is now a more comfortable way to look out over the orchard and fields behind the house — an enclosed sun room with lots of windows.
“This was completely outside when we first started,” Cortez said. “This area is part of the original home. We added this nice 17-foot sliding door so it’s easy to come in and out. And then, of course, they have all this land, and so we want to make sure they can enjoy it even when you’re inside. And we added this awning on the outside, and then came in and added a porch so they can still sit outside.”
They added a custom-built bar with fluted glass doors and brass accents — and the beverage fridge and deep liquor drawers provide a spot for anything to quench a thirst. An 1800s oak buffet — another family piece — holds a special place for family heirlooms and knickknacks alike.
“What I like is that this room brings in the outside to the inside,” Cortez said. “We have these two pocket doors right here with the completely clear glass. So if you’re sitting in here, you can still enjoy that view from outside.”
Moore agreed.
“We can drink coffee here and enjoy the outdoors in the sun room or out on the patio,” she said. “I’m glad they saved some of the screened-in porch for us, because that was one of the reasons I fell in love with this house — was the front porch and the back porch. This is where everybody hangs out after a meal. They all come out here and fall asleep on the porch.”
Part of that view is of the garden and fruit tree orchard.
“We just harvested the peaches,” Moore said. “We also have plums and apricots. The persimmons won’t be ready until November or December. Not all the fruit trees are producing yet, but the grapevine is very prolific.”
A few other additions to make the Moore’s home more livable are a guest bathroom that serve two guest bedrooms and a luxurious laundry room — all in the same wing of the house, off the kitchen.
“Originally, they had your typical tub shower combo in here,” Cortez said. “So we came in, completely gutted it.”
They chose a mosaic, natural stone tile for the floor, brass fixtures and hardware, pivot mirror and ceramic tile on the wall and leathered quartzite. The real showstopper of this room, though, is the Acanthus leaves wallpaper by Morris & Co. which are created from the original William Morris designs from the 19th century.
“We discovered William Morris when we restored a house in Hillsboro several years ago,” Moore said. “It was an old Sears kit home. So we did research to try to figure out how to restore it to its original form. That was kind of what led us to the arts and crafts William Morris design. And we fell in love with their papers.”
The remodeled laundry room is now simply a place that makes you want to do otherwise mundane tasks — it’s just that interesting.
“We kind of borrowed some space from the garage again, because their garage had a lot of free space in there,” Cortez explained. “So we pushed that wall back and added all of this custom cabinetry and a spot for the washer dryer.”
Special amenities include a pop-out ironing board, a built-in hanging rack and a deep sink wrapped in the same white quartzite from the kitchen and great room. Once again, William Morris wallpaper makes an appearance, adding to the fun and elegance of the room.
Moore said so far, their homestead renovations have been exactly as she imagined.
“It’s still a work in progress, but I especially like the function and how I have a place for the pieces that are important to us: the vintage pieces,” she said. “What I like most about this house is that when you do have a lot of people here, there are a lot of places to go to for pressure relief. The front porch, the sun room, the back patio, the breezeway or just even to the laundry room. There are a lot of places that you can go to get away from whatever may be.”
While the process was fairly fluid, one challenge was the timeline the Moores had for their projects: Starting in January and hoping to be ready before The Great American Eclipse on April 8.
“We were having a party, of course, and so we were like, ‘We have to make this house ready for a hosting gig.’ That was probably the biggest challenge, but it got done, literally the week of the eclipse. So, it all worked out.”
To be able to take a distressed property and infuse new life into it is something Moore says she’s proud to call home.
“It was a place with a footprint that was perfect for us and that was worth rescuing, and it was a good place for us all to be during COVID. And luckily, while they were all here, we figured out what we needed to do and they came to the rescue.
“We wanted wide open spaces and just for the family to feel free and run and play and fish and be on the creek as well as learn to be resourceful with gardening and teaching on what we can,” Moore said. “Robert has a barn down there that has all of his farm equipment. It’s a great dream.”
