‘Everyone’s Hungry for Home’: Family Spends 2 Years Transforming 305-Year-Old Farm Into Their Happy Home

A mom of five and property renovator has built the home of her dreams, a transformed 305-year-old farmhouse that embodies her family’s philosophy: Invest in the people you love. Now, her message is spreading far beyond the walls of her happy home.

California-born Ruth McKeaney, 54, lives outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Bob. She gave up a career as an attorney to become a stay-at-home mom and is now a published author, having transformed a once-derelict farmhouse and 12-acre plot into a grand yet intimate family home with Bob, over the course of almost two years.

“We have done a lot of houses, huge old homes. I love to restore something that once had life and lost it,” Ruth told The Epoch Times. “When we saw this house, it was not habitable anymore. The windows were all broken, things had been stolen, it was horrible.

“So to bring it back and give life to it and make it beautiful again, to me, that was a big motivator.”

Ruth hoped the farm, with its main three-story house and two guest houses, would become their permanent home. Since her mother had passed away, she also hoped one of the guest houses could be a cozy home for her father.

“We’re the fourth owners on the deed, so only four families have owned it in 305 years ... it had to be completely redone,” she told The Epoch Times. “There were trees growing into the third floor, there were stone walls that had fallen down, we had to put in all new plumbing, all new electric, all new everything.”

The surrounding woods were encroaching on the house, but after clearing away some of the trees, Ruth and Bob discovered the stone foundations of a barn that had previously burned down. Ruth had a sense of the home she was trying to create; staying true to the property’s history was paramount.

“He’s not afraid of having to learn new skills, of having to do things that he’s not comfortable with. He just tries it and he works very hard. I appreciate him a lot,” she said.

Ruth praises her entire family for being able to work hard, love hard, and play hard, so when it came time to address the outdoors, she knew her five kids would want to share the garden space with their friends from school and church. But she didn’t want them cramped up indoors playing video games.

“We'd have things like a long zip line, a basketball court, dune buggies, tetherball; we had everything you could play outside,” said Ruth, who also keeps 20 chickens and tends a huge herb garden on the property.

Today, the fully renovated Hillside Farm is a beloved refuge for the whole family. Ruth and Bob’s kids have graduated from playing in the garden to using the new barn, an entertainment space built where the burned-down barn used to be—and Ruth is always ready to host.

“Take for instance in my freezer,” Ruth said, “I have bags and bags of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough balls, so that if anyone comes, I can cook immediately for them. It’s just always having that welcoming sense to whoever doesn’t live here.

For Ruth, the kitchen is the heart of the home. The walls are adorned with large pieces of framed art by her own children, and instead of a guestbook, she and Bob have hung a log from a fallen tree over their fireplace and invite all visitors to carve their name.

At one daughter’s insistence, they also keep a piano in the dining room since all five of their kids can play. “It was important to me that they learned the discipline of an instrument,” Ruth said. “We grew up eating dinner while someone might be playing the piano.”

With an open-door policy in their home, it wasn’t long before Ruth and Bob began inviting visitors from further afield. Ruth was touched by the words of a New York magazine photographer who said, “I only have one thing to say: I’m home,” and her cousin, who insisted through tears that people visit so often because “they feel that they’re loved.”

During a conversation with two friends in England about flipping homes, Ruth was asked why she does what she does. She replied, “I believe everyone’s hungry for home.”

“They both, in that moment, looked at me and said, ‘You’re supposed to write a book!’” Ruth said. “I’m not an expert, I’m not a chef, I’m not a designer, but the more people that began to talk to me, I do know one thing I have a heart for, and that is creating space for a home.”

The couple have renovated two additional homes since moving into Hillside Farm, to pay for the barn addition and their kids’ college fees. They do not plan to move again and Ruth hopes their renovation story encourages other people to pour love, care, and intention into their own homes.

“I think homes are divided, families are divided, and that breaks my heart,” she said. “I think the topic of home and the desire for home crosses every ethnic boundary, financial or economic boundary, racial boundary, religious boundary ... to me this is a motivator, because my heart is to bless people, and my personal motivation is my faith.

“Is a home always happy? No, everyone goes through things. Everyone struggles with different things. But to have a collection of people that’s going to love you through it, and walk you through it, I don’t think you can buy that.”