Our Story
Kevin and Rachel Quenzer are reformed Chicago suburbanites who moved their little family to a 7-acre farm in Michigan in late 2018. They wanted a place with wide open spaces where they wouldn’t be able to see directly into their neighbors bedroom and land to make their own.
In 2018 they were on the hunt for homes in Illinois but weren’t having any luck. When Rachel was on a business trip in the fall of that year – sitting in the middle of a peanut farm, no less – Kevin sent her a photo for a farmhouse just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They had talked about moving out of Illinois, but at that moment it became a reality. Rachel had gone to college in Michigan and still had ties to the area and the farmhouse seemed like a dream come true – old but renovated, beautiful already but with tons of potential for more and just far enough in the country to still have neighbors without being able to actually see them.
Everyone in their families thought they were crazy. No one could see Rachel scooping chicken poop or Kevin happily mowing the massive acreage – he hated mowing just the quarter acre lot of their Illinois home. But, they did it anyways. They dug in, made it happened and moved the day after Christmas.
Today, Rachel and Kevin run the farm as a small but growing flower farm. They also sell handmade goods such as soap, pottery and wood shop items in the small store on their property. Make sure to check out the store {HERE} to see which products they have available online. As they move forward now they see nothing but possibilities in this place and have continued to make the farmhouse their home – inside and out.
About Rachel
Rachel is a wife, mother, homemaker, gardener and recipe creator. She’s an animal lover, dreamer, writer and the creator of all the projects you will see happening at Sugar Maple Farmhouse. She an introverted extrovert and loves the comforts of home, a well-designed room with plenty of straight lines, natural tones and a lot of plants. Her farmhouse style is a mix of traditional home style. She loves adding antique pieces to their home to balance out the new construction. She creates two new recipes each week for the blog as well as shares all their home DIY and her favorite finds. You can find her latest recipes on Instagram @sugarmaplekithen and daily farm life @sugarmaplefarmhouse. You can also follow all the projects on the farm YouTube channel @SugarMapleFarmhouse.
Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Grand Valley State University and a Master’s in Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University in Chicago. She has appeared on WZZM Grand Rapids, Good Housekeeping Online and featured multiple times in the print version of Farmhouse Style.
About Kevin
Kevin is an IT professional an
d you could say he’s the Ying to Rachel’s Yang. He’s practical, logical (except when it comes to purchasing farmhouses on whim) and likes numbers. He loves computers – usually building them from scratch – He’s an introvert but still thrives around guests at the farmhouse. He works from home and assists with all the farmhouse projects from planting the flower fields to building garden beds and hoop house and whatever else Rachel convinces him to do. He’s taken up wood working and you can find him on the Sugar Maple Farmhouse Instagram and YouTube channels as well as his personal Instagram account @crop.daddy.
Kevin has a Computer Science Bachelor’s Degree from Illinois State University and has worked in Information technology his entire life.
The kids
Keira and Roman are two rainbow babies. After having a difficult time keeping pregnancies, Rachel and Kevin were blessed with these two. When their first son, Alexander, was stillborn in 2011, the pair doubted they would ever be able to carry a baby to term. They consider these two kids miracles and while parenting them isn’t a walk in the park, they are the greatest joys in life for Rachel and Kevin. Moving to Sugar Maple Farmhouse was about being able to give the kids a different type of life and showing them that something exists outside of the internet in the literal outside. Roman is an animal lover like his mom and is constantly wanting to bring frogs and bugs home as pets. He could spend his days outside exploring and be perfectly happy – as long as he has a cap to keep the sun from getting in his eyes. He’s outgoing and a happy-go-lucky kid that’s not afraid to tell it like it is. Keira is more timid and prefers to spend her time indoors lately. She’s a true homebody and a kind soul. Anytime anyone is sad or upset she’s there with a hug and encouraging words. She’s amazing at drawing and – even if she doesn’t like to it – reading and math.
The dogs
Rachel believe in rescuing as many animals as possible. So, their – Bailey and Daisy – have both come from area Michigan rescues. When the family moved to the farm they brought their senior dog, Frenchie with them. She has been Rachel’s dog, friend and shadow for 16 years. She was able to spend her last few months in the wide open spaces and when walking became hard she would sit in the sunshine and take it all in. The family said goodbye to her in June 2019.
In July of that year, the Quenzers adopted their Pitbull mix Bailey from a local animal rescue when she was just 12 weeks old. Bailey is the most gentle soul who loves to snuggle, sleep under the blanket, play with other dogs and lets the kids hang all over her. She’s very even with her emotions and stingy with her kisses. She just celebrated her first birthday.
In February of 2020, Rachel went to the feed store for chicken supplies and bought a puppy. There was an animal rescue there that day and some of the puppies looked exactly like Frenchie. Daisy, who seems to be some sort of Shepherd mix, joined the family that next week. Believe it or not, she’s the guard dog. She’s leery of strangers and takes a while to warm up to new people. She loves to give kisses, wags her tail at you all day long and loves her family.
The Donkeys
When the pandemic hit in 202 and everyone looked inward, Rachel decided it was some time for some animals on the farm. They already had chickens but she was excited to expand. That led her to adopting two donkey baby boys, Leo and Cosmo, and Leo’s mom Naomi. Leo and Cosmo were just three months old when they came to the farm and they’ve been here all their lives now. The little boys are fun, engaging and love attention. Naomi was 7 when she arrived and she takes a while to warm up to people. She likes attention on her own terms but sometimes just really appreciates a hug.
When the donkeys arrive at the farm in December 2020 her cousin’s horse also came too. When it was time for the horse to leave that next spring Rachel decided that Naomi would need another donkey friend. She rescued two donkeys from a kill pen in the South and named them Atlas and Luna. Atlas is a good, old boy who walks on a lead rope and obeys commands well. According to the kill pen staff, he had once been a riding on donkey for children. He’s the best behaved out of everyone. Luna had either been ferrel or abused and took a lot of time to warm up to everyone. In fact, she still has her days and prefers children over adults. Unknown to Rachel and Kevin at the time, Luna was very early pregnant. They only confirmed this about one month before she was due – in the middle of a Michigan winter. She gave birth to Celio on January 25, 2022 and sadly, lost him a few short hours later due to a placenta infection, according to the vet. He is buried under a newly planted sugar maple near the donkey space so he can always be with his family. His loss was devastating to everyone.
Most of the time now, Rachel feels like their little herd is complete. But you never know what might be in the next trailer that pulls into the driveway…
The farm
Sugar Maple Farmhouse is small, 7-acre farm nestled just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was named by Rachel and Kevin for the 120-year-old Sugar Maple Tree parked right outside the front door. The farmhouse itself is a renovated farmhouse. Half of the house is from 1900 and half of the house was added in 2017. When The Quenzers moved in they continued the renovation with some small interior remodeling projects on the master bedroom, bathroom, mud room and the room that’s now Rachel’s home office space. Additionally, they completely transformed the old, falling down barn and garage on the property and made it into a functional 2-car garage and studio space/extra space for family and friends when they come to visit. They also built a 1/4 acre garden, greenhouse, stable area for the donkeys and continue to expand the flower farm.
