https://linkbio.co/Theforgehouse

The Forge House, Harrisburg, PA (2025)

09/08/2025

At the Forge Cottage, we tore out manufactured floors to install locally milled red oak. Manufactured options are affordable, consistent, and often pre-finished — ready to install but usually less unique. Locally milled wood, like what we’re using now, is cut from regional trees, offering custom sizing and natural variation, though it typically comes raw and needs sanding and staining.

At the Forge House, we installed reclaimed chestnut and pine hardwoods — salvaged materials that are dense, rich with history, and full of character. Reclaimed floors often come from barns and old buildings, and much of it is heartwood, the tight-grained, oldest part of the tree. It’s incredibly durable, but also the most expensive and requires more prep to install.

The images above show examples of each type of flooring: manufactured, locally milled, and reclaimed. Each has its own story — consistency, craftsmanship, or history.

👉 Which type of floor would you choose for your home?

08/29/2025

Dreaming of a kitchen reno? 🖤 Here are a few of my starter tips from the renovating the Forge House kitchen that we will implement in the Forge Cottage kitchen. Things that actually make daily life easier (not just pretty for photos).

Some of my favorite products + pullout systems are linked in my bio through my LTK shop. ✨ Save this post for later + follow along as we turn this empty space into the French country kitchen of our dreams.

What’s one thing you’d change about your kitchen layout if you could?

08/20/2025

One of the best upgrades we’ve ever made to our home? Permanent exterior lighting. ✨

We installed these about three years ago, and honestly—I don’t even think about them most days. They just work. From summer nights on the porch, to the holidays, to just pulling into the driveway at night, they’ve become part of the backdrop of our home.

It’s funny, when friends visit, they always ask about them—but for us, they’re so second nature now. Definitely one of those projects that’s paid off more than we expected. 👏

Would you ever do permanent lights on your home?

08/13/2025

Propane tanks aren’t the prettiest thing in the yard… but they are necessary. 🛢🔥
So do you go above ground or below ground?

Let's break down so of the pros, cons, and cost differences for a 1,000 gallon tank. Above ground is cheaper and easier to service, but it’s visible (and yep — that white paint grows mildew fast). Below ground hides the bulk of the tank, but it comes with a much higher install bill.

For ours, we’re getting creative with both setups:
• The above-ground tank is getting a decorative surround to help it blend with the stone building. (Pictured at the forge house)
• The hidden (below-ground) tank — which looks like a little trashcan lid right now. Will have flowers or landscaping around it so it disappears even more. 🌿 (the forge cottage)

💭 Which would you choose for your home? Is a cleaner look worth the extra cost?

08/07/2025

Two small stone buildings. A whole lot of history. The Spring House was once the only bathroom for the Forge House.
The other now nicknamed The Chapel was a later addition built with care to match the original stonework of the house and barn.

When we bought the property, both were in rough shape. The Spring House walls were bowing, the mortar was crumbling, and the entire structure was on the verge of collapse.
We filled the old cistern pit with gravel and concrete, repointed the stone by hand, and gave it new life with a rich coat of Black Forest Green by Benjamin Moore. ✨

Swipe through to see photos from the 70s, 80s, and 90s before the Forge House was abandoned and where these little buildings are today.
Oh, and one of them now houses our resident bunny, Max. 🐇 Keep swiping to see Max at the end!

Which part of this transformation surprised you the most? Let us know below! ⬇️

07/19/2025

We made some bold choices, tried new things, and no two spaces look the same. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a full recap of each one:
→ What we picked
→ Why we picked it
→ And what I might change next time 😉

Swipe through to see all five, then head to the poll and vote: 💬 Which bathroom should we start with? I could only add 4 so if your vote is powder room comment!

Styling isn’t 100% done yet (we still need art, shelving, and a few details), but we’re diving in anyway!

07/14/2025

🏡 Another before & after but this one’s extra special.

We’ve shared our kitchen renovation before, but I thought it’d be fun to compare it with an original photo I found from the early 1900s, back when the house was used as a Bed and Breakfast (not quite the original 1830s kitchen, but still such a cool piece of its history).

Some of the details are surprisingly familiar like the cabinets, which now live in our barn apartment, and the original window above the door, which we never replaced. That wall on the left? Gone. The pine floors? They were beautiful back then but completely gone by the time we bought the house replaced with plywood and patchwork.

We totally gutted the space: new plumbing, electrical, insulation, reinforced beams, drywall, lighting, appliances all of it.

Our goal was to make it feel open, welcoming, and still true to the home’s character.
💙 Island: Benjamin Moore Bruce Bruce
🕊️ Cabinetry: White Dove
🪵 Floors: Heartwood Pine, reinstalled to match the original
🍂 Mixed in copper and oil-rubbed bronze finishes
🖼️ We even used pine flooring to picture-frame the upper cabinets to warm up the white.

We kept the exposed stone walls, leaned into natural tones, and designed everything to feel like it belonged here.

The real kitchen table is still out for repair (makeshift one in its place for now), but the heart of the space is here.

So tell me do you love the original kitchen from the Bed and Breakfast days… or our version better? 👀 Swipe to compare!

06/30/2025

Ever wonder how a 100+ year-old stone house stays standing? 👀
It’s not just the stones it’s the mortar between them holding everything together. Over time, that old mortar breaks down, and if you don’t replace it the right way, the whole wall can start to shift, crack, or even crumble.

We’re in the middle of a process called repointing, which means carefully removing the deteriorated mortar joints and replacing them with new mortar. We’re using a traditional lime and sand mix just like the original builders would’ve used.

A lot of people ask, “Why not just use cement?” And the answer is: cement is too hard and brittle for old stonework. It doesn’t allow the walls to breathe and it traps moisture inside, which can damage the stone over time. 😬

Lime mortar, on the other hand, is softer and breathable. It allows the wall to move slightly with changes in temperature and moisture, helps release trapped water, and supports the overall health of the structure.

And no, the wall doesn’t fall down while we’re doing it 😅. We remove and replace the mortar one small section at a time, and thanks to the way these walls are built stacked stone carrying the weight it stays stable throughout the process.

It’s slow, dusty, and seriously satisfying work and exactly what an old stone building with crumbling mortar needs to stay standing for another century. 💪

👉 Swipe to the end to see something amazing one of the stones on our house has visible shell fossils embedded in it. Just another reminder of how much history these old homes hold. 🐚🪨

Got questions about the repointing process? Drop them below! We’re going to share everything we’ve learned along the way, but we’d love to hear what you’re curious about so we can make sure to cover it all. 👇

06/26/2025

On the left wing of our house, we have two guest bedrooms and this one has come a long way. Swipe to see the before when it was a B&B, after of this space’s transformation and the end shows what it looked like when we bought it ✨

The first photo shows the room back in its bed-and-breakfast days. A lot of people say the house was at its best then, and honestly… I get it. That daybed? The wallpaper? The deep windowsills? So charming. I’m seriously considering adding wallpaper to all my deep windowsills throughout the house. And those little wall sconces are too cute to ignore.

When we bought the place, the room had been painted bright yellow trim and all with pegboard hooks lining the walls. It wasn’t in terrible shape, but it needed some love.

We kept it simple with a fresh coat of paint and layered in some mixed furniture to make it feel cozy, calm, and welcoming for guests. 🛏️ We also kept the original hardware on the door (because why mess with a good thing?) and added some vintage thrifted porcelain k***s to the windowsills for a subtle touch of character.

Would you wallpaper all the windowsills, or leave them simple? Let me know what you’d do!

***s

06/18/2025

Let’s take a look at some of the stone we have exposed in our house and why we think it’s worth it at The Forge Cottage.

One of the things we love most about our house is how much exposed stone we have. It adds depth, texture, and a sense of grounded history that you just can’t replicate with modern materials.

But here’s the truth: while it looks beautiful now, these walls took a LOT of work. When you peel back the old lath and plaster, you’re often left with dry-stacked stone sometimes with just a whisper of mortar holding it all together. (Scroll to the end to see a uncovered stone with no mortar) To make these walls stable and showcase their beauty, they had to be repointed, which means adding fresh mortar between every single stone by hand. It’s a labor of love, and it’s slow but so worth it.

From there, the mortar is shaped using a trowel either smoothed or recessed, depending on the design style you want. Personally, I love the slightly rustic, imperfect finish that lets the stones really shine.

Stone walls don’t just bring character they’re functional too. They hold onto heat in the winter, stay cool in the summer, and quietly remind you that you’re standing inside something that was built to last.

It’s humbling to live within these 200-year-old walls crafted with real materials, real tools, and a lot of sweat (and probably a few tears). The charm doesn’t come easy, but it’s always worth it. 🖤

06/12/2025

Swipe to step back in time 🕰️
Here’s another peek at the exterior of our home back when it was a bed-and-breakfast. While many details have changed over the years, so much of its original charm remains. ✨

Some updates you’ll notice:
— The porch railing on the roof was removed before we purchased the house due to rot 😞
— A decorative piece was added to the third-floor peak
— White shutters are now green
— Brick pathway swapped for stone
— White plank siding replaced with cedar shake on the third floor
— Gutters went from white to copper 🧡

But the true showstopper? The original porch railings and spindles—still going strong after 200 years! We even have photos from nearly the original owners that show this exact spindle design. And those green shutters? Still the originals, just with a few paint jobs over the decades. Even the concrete from 1930 is still holding up today! 💪🏼

06/10/2025

We made a BIG announcement yesterday… Tyler’s parents bought the stone house right next door! 🏡💫 We are beyond excited to welcome them to the neighborhood — and to have a new renovation project to share with you!

A little backstory on this beauty: the home was built around the same time as ours (1830s) but we do not know the exact date and was originally part of the same property. Like our house, it was part of the Swatara Furnace community — these homes were typically reserved for “higher ups” in the furnace operations.

Originally constructed as a double house in 1932, it later suffered a devastating stove fire that left only the four stone walls standing. Mr. Boyer rebuilt it shortly after as a single-family home.

The house sat vacant for nearly five years before Tyler’s parents purchased it, and now it’s ready for some serious love — water-damaged windows, full exterior stone repointing, new kitchen, bathroom, flooring… the list is long, but the potential is huge.

I wanted to share a few photos of what it looks like now. It has some really special features: a three-sided fireplace, beautiful exposed beams (you can see the second floor floors from below!), copper-plated door plates, and one of the most unique things — the second story opens right out to the backyard, ground level. The home actually backs up to the mountainside, making it feel incredibly tucked-in and cozy. 🌲🏠

We’ll be sharing their renovation journey right here, and we can’t wait to bring you along!

The Forge House

09/08/2025

08/29/2025

08/20/2025

08/13/2025

08/07/2025

07/19/2025

07/14/2025

06/30/2025

06/26/2025

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06/12/2025

06/10/2025

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