Episode 125 // Michael and Sara Floyd of Bryarton Farm
On this episode of the Rural Revival podcast we’re with Michael and Sara Floyd of Bryarton Farm in rural Kansas. Together Michael and Sara shared a dream of owning a historic farmhouse in the country as a creative space for their art and design studio, and today they’re sharing about the adventure of bringing that dream to life.
From what brought them to Kansas, to Sara’s tips and tricks for finding historic properties, and creative ways to survive a lengthy renovation, this is a journey that celebrates the humble farmer from centuries past and highlights the importance of preserving these places for the generations to come.
Over time this house and farm have become more than just a project for their family of five, it’s a place where they get to witness miracles and the place where love conquers all, and that includes their newly adopted daughter, Ellie. This is a story we know you’re gonna love.
This is an important story in so many ways and we admire Michael and Sara for honoring the history of their home and their intentionality behind preserving the original detail and architecture, plus their perseverance to see this project through.
We decided a fancy career was not what we wanted out of life. We really wanted to have a lot of time to focus on family and raise our girls in the country like we were raised and homeschool them like we were homeschooled.
— Sara Floyd
The humble farmer story matters. They are the backbone of any country.
— Sara Floyd
By preserving this house and showing something closer to what it would have looked like over 100 years ago, it allows us — through sharing it online and in other places — to give you a glimpse into the past, not just of this family but thousands of families from that time.
— Michael Floyd
I love that I’m literally walking in the footsteps of those farming families that struggled to survive here.
— Sara Floyd
The farmhouses and old barns in our country, a lot of them are just falling into decay. And there’s kind of a tipping point, once they get so far gone, that the difficulty of getting them restored at that point is so great that there’s just not a lot of people who are going to take that time and that effort and expense to go through. So we are trying to open people’s eyes to what’s out there. Hopefully we can find more ways to get more people who really care about these houses into them and restoring them in a thoughtful way.
— Michael Floyd
I have this fear in the back of my head that someday my girls will only be able to read about old farm houses in Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie or Sarah Plain and Tall. They will be able to read these books but they will have no actual representation of what that is. Because we’re losing them at such a rapid rate. The original agricultural architecture of any country is so important to preserve because that is the backbone of that country. And if we can only read about it then we might not be getting the full picture. They’re not just museum pieces, they can still be used and loved and lived in well.
— Sara Floyd
PODCAST SHOW NOTES AND LINKS:
Zillow
bryartonfarm.com
Instagram: /bryartonfarm