296. From Suburbs to Homestead: Building a Family Farmhouse Life | Melissa Ferguson of Our Friendly Farmhouse

Simple Farmhouse Life

Lisa Bass

Home & Garden, Leisure

4.9 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you’ve ever dreamed of leaving the suburbs for a slice of quiet country life, this episode will speak right to your heart. Author Melissa Ferguson joins me to share the real-life inspiration behind her new children’s book, Our Friendly Farmhouse—a sweet and whimsical reflection of her family’s journey from cul-de-sac to countryside. We talk about building a home from scratch, traveling with a big family, and slowly creating a homestead that feels peaceful, practical, and full of charm. Melissa offers encouragement and budget-friendly tips for anyone in the thick of building, dreaming, or simply trying to make thoughtful choices in the season they’re in. In this episode, we cover: Melissa Ferguson returns to share the inspiration behind her debut children’s book, Our Friendly Farmhouse, which tells a whimsical version of her family’s move from suburbia to the country How a spontaneous land auction and a last-minute bid from her brother-in-law launched their homesteading journey The process of building their home from scratch—leveraging her husband’s experience as a builder and funding parts of the project through social media brand deals Reflections on the early stages of their homestead—living in town during the build, missing the land, and making daily visits to the property A rich conversation about traveling with a big family—carry-on-only tips, spontaneous trips, dividing and conquering, and how animals (especially dairy cows) impact travel flexibility Melissa’s best budget-saving build strategies: buying materials on Black Friday, repurposing gym flooring, and skipping high-end finishes in favor of upgrades over time Thoughtful advice on design choices—prioritizing natural light, southern exposure, adaptable floor plans, and creating cozy, lived-in charm Honest reflections on what she might do differently: adding a tornado shelter, skipping carpet, and not letting a gifted vanity dictate an entire bathroom design Why they chose to build slowly, add animals over time, and prioritize flexibility over going “all in” from the beginning The value of outdoor gathering spaces—daily porch coffee with her husband, chalk art and pickleball in the driveway, and simple spots that invite rest and connection View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible! RESOURCES Our Friendly Farmhouse by Melissa Ferguson Check out Melissa’s other books Join my FREE masterclass to learn my 4-step framework for making money on YouTube Master the rhythm of sourdough with confidence in my Simple Sourdough course Gain the sewing knowledge and skills every homemaker needs in my Simple Sewing series Turn your content creation dreams into a profitable business with my YouTube Success Academy Keep all my favorite sourdough recipes at your fingertips in my Daily Sourdough cookbook CONNECT Melissa Ferguson of Our Friendly Farmhouse | Website | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Bookbub | Pinterest Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

Transcript

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0:00.0	As a parent, you want to set your kids up for success. I know a lot of listeners are thinking about
0:05.5	homeschooling. They're unsure of where to start and not as confident as some of the more seasoned
0:11.5	homeschool moms who've been doing this for many years. K-12 can help your child start reaching
0:16.5	their full potential and give you the support you need to get them there. K-12-powered schools are tuition-free
0:22.4	online accredited schools for kindergarten through 12th grade, designed to help your child to learn at
0:27.7	their own pace and their own place with an engaging curriculum that supports individual learning
0:32.3	styles. This is different from homeschooling, if that's something you haven't ventured into yet,
0:36.5	where you're responsible for teaching them. K-12-powered schools are trained online educators that utilize hands-on,
0:43.1	innovative technology to make learning interactive. They even offer social opportunities,
0:48.0	extracurricular activities, and in-person events. Join the more than 3 million families who
0:52.7	have been served by K-12 and empower your
0:54.8	student to reach their full potential now. Go to K-12.com slash farmhouse today to find a tuition-free
1:01.1	K-12-powered school near you and enroll now. That's the letter K-the-number 12.com slash farmhouse.
1:07.9	K-12.com slash farmhouse. I did immediately want a whole farm, but at the same time,
1:15.1	I didn't realistically think that was wise for us to jump into. So it's taken us four years. I love the
1:21.3	life that it's provided for my children. I love that they understand farm life. I love that they
1:26.3	understand life and death. The hard work is hard
1:28.9	work, but good work and joys that come from working hard and like harvesting your own
1:32.6	parents with your cousins. It's a great experience for the children. Yeah, and it's not always
1:37.2	necessarily practical. You can buy carrots pretty cheap. It's more than that. Yes, you can do a much
1:42.6	more convenient thing, but then there's just the absence of that good work.
1:46.6	My name is Lisa, mother of eight and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse-on-Boon.
	...

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