What would you do if you inherit a 200-year-old cottage placed in the heart of Ireland’s breathtakingly beautiful countryside? Sell it and get yourself something in the city or embrace the rural life and renovate it? A man named Jack Shelly opted for the latter and now his renovating project of his late grandfather’s cottage is very popular on social media!

Jack decided to give this old building a completely new look and he’s very close to finishing his and his dad’s DIY project. Jack’s grandpa bought the cabin back in 1950 at the age of 29 and lived there until his death in 2010. Ever since, the cottage was sort of abandoned and no one took care of it. Until Jack decided to do a complete transformation in 2020.

“So, my father, his parents, and his five brothers and sisters grew up in this two-bedroom house,” Jack said of the cottage. “There is no insulation and the windows are single-glazed.” With a $30,000 budget and plenty of ideas, Jack decided he would no longer let his property deteriorate. “ My father and I started cleaning it up and getting rid of anything unnecessary.

“Once the clearing out was completed, it was time to begin the actual renovation,” he explained. What’s more, he posts videos of the renovation process on his TikTok account, which people adore. They are eagerly awaiting the final results. So, too, do we. “ Around this time, I began documenting my journey on TikTok and Instagram. This video quickly went viral, and I gained 45,000 followers in just 24 hours.

“I’ve been meticulously documenting the entire journey since and have really enjoyed interacting with people through these platforms,” Jack said. So far, they’ve replaced the windows, installed a new roof, and repainted the house. But there is still work to be done. In the video below, you can see how far Jack and his father have come.