Our Story
Welcome to
Pauline Manor
We’re Mike and Lynsey Kmetz, the owners of Pauline Manor, a 1908 Victorian farmhouse tucked away in Northwest Florida. We have two daughters, Sam and Taylor, and a small herd of dachshunds who firmly believe every project on this property requires their direct supervision.
How It Began
It all started with a late-night Zillow scroll.
In 2022, we stumbled across a listing for a worn-down 1908 farmhouse sitting quietly on five acres in Northwest Florida. The house had been neglected for years, the property was overgrown, and nearly every room needed attention, but there was still something about it that felt impossible to ignore.
We could see the wide porches, the old woodwork, the gardens that could be brought back to life, and the kind of home that might become something truly special with enough patience, work, and probably more trips to the hardware store than either of us could count.
From Overwhelmed to Home
Somewhere along the way, Pauline Manor started changing us too.
Buying Pauline Manor turned out to be anything but easy. Because the house was in the middle of extensive renovations, traditional financing was not an option. It took six months, more paperwork than I care to remember, plenty of prayers, and the support of family who believed in our crazy idea just as much as we did.
The first year was almost entirely about bringing the house back to life. We filled dumpsters, uncovered the original hardwood floors, replaced the roof, poured a new driveway, renovated rooms, built a fence for the pups, transformed the old work shed into Mike’s workshop, and tackled what felt like an endless list of projects.
Every time we crossed one thing off the list, we found two more waiting for us. Still, somewhere in the middle of all that dust, work, and chaos, this old house became a home.
Pauline Manor Today
What started as a restoration became an entirely different way of living.
Today, Pauline Manor is still very much a work in progress, but it has also become the place where nearly everything we love comes together. We grow vegetables and herbs, bake sourdough, tend the bees, make things for the home, and continue restoring this old house one project at a time.
Some days are productive and beautiful. Other days involve failed recipes, broken tools, escaped dachshunds, or projects that take three times longer than expected. We share all of it because the imperfect parts are usually where the best stories begin.
Pauline Manor is not about escaping modern life or pretending everything moves slowly here. It is about creating a home that feels meaningful, making useful things with our own hands, and finding a little beauty in the middle of the chaos.
We’re glad you found your way here.