HOUSE DESIGN
Douglas VanderHorn Architects SaveEmail Inside, VanderHorn used all the siding, timbers and floors original to the barn. He repurposed the original exterior siding to use as planks for the ceiling. The original floors are 2½ inches thick, and show their history through scratches and nicks. “You could still drive a tractor on them,” the architect says. The walls are covered in a rustic plaster treatment that has hay in it — a nod to the barn’s history. On the top right side of the photo, a loft with a bedroom and full bathroom is illuminated by light from the new cupola. Pine trims the new custom windows. “We tried to design windows that were as simple as possible to match the era of the barn,” VanderHorn says.
As part of the renovations, they replaced the barn’s original siding with fir reclaimed from another barn that was in better shape, and repurposed it elsewhere in the project. A conservatory, chimney and cupola are new architectural additions. A new standing seam roof of lead-coated copper tops it off. The stone at the base of the conservatory is Connecticut granite.
VanderHorn found this barn outside Albany, New York, online via Heritage Restorations, a firm that scouts barns in disrepair for rehabilitation and reuse. The timbers were already numbered and coded, as that was part of the original construction in the 1860s, when this barn was built. This made it easy to keep things organized during dismantling and rebuilding. The wood was tented and fumigated to get rid of any insects before builders began to put the barn back together.
We love this totally enclosed space, because the architect has created a sun trap with great old walls and a new glass addition that links two buildings. From the glass room, you look directly onto a raised water feature with a wide surround perfect for informal sitting and great for parties. If you’re fortunate enough to have a sunny courtyard, do as this garden designer has done and use plants sparingly, but make each one count. Exotic palms and olive trees are ideal for this sort of sun-drenched space.
Big double doors lead out onto this long, narrow courtyard packed with plants. The length of the courtyard is accentuated by “pinching” the access at certain points, so it feels as if the view goes over and under plants and trees to create a plant lover’s paradise. Larger pots containing trees are placed to the right to create some screening, but also to give a focus from the left-hand windows. The view then carries on down to the extension to create the perfect space for having a coffee. You can achieve the same effect yourself by using lots of different-size pots containing different plants to take the eye through your courtyard.
The good home should be right-sized. Not too big or too small, the good home should be sized just right. This will mean that all of its area is used and all of its rooms have a purpose. There isn’t any waste or any confinement. To do this means understanding how you really live and how you’d ideally live so that your home is truly comfortable, like that suit or dress that fits you just right.
As with a custom or built-in model, operating a freestanding parcel drop is pretty simple. The delivery person opens the door and places the package inside. When the door is shut, the package drops down into the locker’s cavity. Later the homeowner uses a key to unlock the parcel drop and gather the packages.
Bookshelves make excellent spatial dividers. Their density can be altered based on the number of books stored. If the clutter of the book spine activates your inner obsessive, you can use translucent materials to soften the effect, as shown here.
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The look of the place.
On the other side of the barn, a pergola-covered space connects to the walled kitchen garden. An antique wagon finishes off the bucolic landscape.
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