Before & After: A Falling-Down Farmhouse Gets a Second Chance, Against All Odds

A teardown. A write-off. Derelict. Condemned. That’s how most people would’ve described the dilapidated, mold-ridden shack outside of Sebastopol, California, that was listed for sale in February 2020. 

Nigel and Jane Hardwidge bought it anyway. 

Before: Exterior

There was just something special that the semi-retired couple sensed when they came to view the property. They were looking for a rural place where they could homestead and ramble, now that their three kids were grown and their respective roles in the world of film and nonprofit tutoring were less intense. At this phase of life, it was less important to be close to the action, and more important to have a semi-off-the-grid space to write, and knit, and pick mushrooms.