The Not-So-Little Restoration
Five years ago, I left my shoebox apartment in New York City and moved to a small town in the Hudson Valley, NY. Shortly thereafter, I bought an abandoned train depot (that’s another story) and then a former schoolhouse, with the goal of preserving my town’s historic buildings and sharing their stories.
My schoolhouse, affectionately known as “The Little School”, was built in 1921 as a two-room elementary school. It closed in 1977, was converted into 3 apartments and has been barely touched since. (Side note: If you’re up for a real challenge, “The Big School” has been for sale for years and is in desperate need of saving.)
The Little School, 2022 (left) and 2025 (right)
The Little School, 1927 (left) and 1940s (right)
“In one room it was grades 1-5 and in the other room it was grades 6-8. If my grandfather was good he had a choice, he could either clean the erasers or listen to what the teacher was telling the other grades so he would be ready for the next grade.”
The Plan
I bought the Little School in 2022, and have been renovating it ever since. I had planned to begin by turning one apartment into a short term rental, but when I began uncovering the building’s character hidden beneath layers of 1970s renovation crimes, I knew I had to bring it back to its former glory.
Foyer restoration in progress
Former school kitchen is now an office
Three years later and I still haven’t launched that short term rental (😩). The renovation has been excruciatingly long, I don’t have pretty photos to share yet, and I’m drained (as is my bank account). But that’s often the reality of historic restoration, so here’s my messy middle…
“I remember the lunch lady, it was like eating at home and the smell from the kitchen in that small building was a killer. She made the best hot dogs!”
Cesspool, Burst Pipe and Asbestos, Oh My!
If I haven’t scared you off buying a unique historic building yet, let me do so now. Three weeks after closing, the original 100-year-old cesspool caved in with no warning. Cue an emergency septic installation and remediation of a rather unpleasant hole.
Then at Christmas, a neighbor knocked on my door to inform me of an explosion of icicles coming out the basement window. A pipe froze and burst while the tenants were away for the holidays, flooding the basement for hours. If it wasn’t for that kind neighbor, the damage would have been unthinkable. I did have to remove the soggy ceiling panels afterwards. They were asbestos, and it was a “large scale project” (💸).
Mechanicals mid-restoration
Mechanicals in 2025
The oil-burning furnace was also on its last legs (flooding it didn’t help). It wasn’t until the old furnace and oil tanks were removed that I was informed the existing electrical panels couldn’t support the new heating system. So I installed a new utility pole, 5 new meters and larger panels. The tangled web of overhead lines were trenched into the building, and I have a new driveway and parking lot (it was torn up anyway). This was all delicately achieved with tenants in the building the entire time. At least my electrician enjoyed the unique challenge, I guess.
“The basement had a room for the coal-burning furnace and a large coal bin. I spent many hours in the coal bin, where Mrs. Wilson sent me when I got into a scrape with one of my classmates.”
Mrs Wilson’s Classroom
Originally a classroom, now a 1-bed apartment (2021)
Peeling back the layers
OK, finally back to renovating that first apartment… When I started the demo, I had no idea what was hiding behind the drywall. We uncovered 12’ ceilings and all the original beadboard was still intact, complete with ghosts of former chalkboards lining the walls. The original windows were gone, but we could see where they once were.
The ceiling was seriously bowing, and the “structural” beams added by a previous owner were a handful of 2x6s nailed to the beadboard. My engineer wasn’t impressed. After much negotiation, we added new structural beams and steel supports carefully hidden in the floor, walls and ceiling to preserve the open feeling of the classroom.
The Design
My design for this apartment is inspired by the 1920s, paired with playful colors chosen from the many layers of paint found throughout the building. For 3 years, I’ve been sourcing items from old schools in the area that have not been as fortunate, including lighting, desks, chairs, lockers, chalkboards, posters and a peg leg sink.
Mood boards for kitchen (left) and living room (right)
Mood boards for bathroom (left) and bedroom (right)
The kitchen has a “biology class” theme, with a backsplash of 80+ hand-painted tiles featuring plants, bugs and birds, no two the same. The living room is geography-themed with a giant educational map and vintage world globes. In the bedroom, a bird theme was inspired by an old photo of students building birdhouses, and a birdhouse my electrician found hidden in a cavity under the staircase! The bathroom is classic 1920s, with a mosaic floor pattern I designed using primary colors, requiring some serious creativity to source bright red floor tiles.
“We always began the school day saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”. About 10:00 AM we each ate a cookie and drank a half pint of milk from a miniature glass bottle.”
Designed for Optimal Learning
Restoring the bank of windows, 1920s (left), 2023 (middle) and 2025 (right)
With the 1905 Consolidated School Act, students across New York moved from tiny one-room schoolhouses to centrally located buildings designed for optimal learning — with large, banked windows and high ceilings to promote light and air. Initially, I planned to restore the windows and leave the rest of the exterior for a future phase, but I should have known myself better by now.
As we started peeling back the vinyl siding we discovered c.1940s wood siding underneath, and in good condition. We repaired and repainted the siding, recreated the original trim details from photos, recoated the concrete foundation, and rebuilt the front entrance. After several eye-watering quotes for a new slate roof ($200K+), I found a local craftsperson who was able to patch and repair the original slate for a fraction of the cost, and he hung the flags for me too!
Mrs Walters’ Classroom
The second classroom mid-demo…
…and ready to rent.
While all this was going on, I also completed a more budget-friendly, DIY renovation of the second classroom apartment. I reconfigured the bathroom to add a larger window and laundry room, and freshened everything else up with paint, new kitchen countertop, salvaged doors and refinishing the floor.
It didn’t turn out quite as budget as I’d hoped (of course), but I did furnish the apartment for under $500 (FB Marketplace FTW), and rented it to a long term tenant in a matter of days.
“Mrs Walters used to let us girls brush her hair when we were in reading circle! And pull out her gray hair!”
Next Up: Gym Class
The former Little League field (left) and school gym (right)
Once I finally get this short term rental launched (soon!), there are so many more projects I’m excited to start on. The former basement gym is a blank canvas, and I can’t wait to landscape the 2 acre schoolyard and former Little League field. And what’s an old schoolhouse without an old school bus? 😉
If you made it this far…
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“I remember looking up into the sky one time when I was cleaning blackboard erasers on the school's front steps, and seeing a silver shiny disc hovering over the school. It was as large as a football field with multicolored lights flashing all around it...”