First we analyze if the structure is sound enough to be converted into a home, and we felt that it was. That was step number one. Step number two, we went through the design elements we had done before with Crystal and Andrew, and recommended we wanted to bring it to their barn, and they liked that.

And then number three, it was the design layout of what they wanted. And then number four, how do we keep the structural integrity of the barn and yet still make it look the way that they want?

For example, with this structure, the large windows that we have at the one gable end took a lot of engineering. We wanted to make it feel like the access to the outdoors was right at your fingertips.

This barn is extremely unique with its bracing that holds it up. It gives it integrity and beauty, and we had to be very careful as we cut into these braces, how do we make it work to still keep it strong?

So they were coming back with this very open design, rustic and yet a contemporary blend, so when we started designing railings and the windows, and the kitchen etc, it all started following that pattern.

I essentially wanted what we have now, a kitchen that leads into the dining area, that leads into the family room, so if I’m in the kitchen I can talk to people. You have to realize with a barn, everything has to follow the scale of the barn.

That’s with the windows, the doors, the lighting, the kitchen, so the trick is how do we get the rooms to be a comfortable size, keep them in proportion?

We added the loft in the barn. One, just for more living space, but also to enclose the kitchen because we felt like if there’s not a ceiling, where do things end?

We wanted to have something where multiple groups could hang out together and still be together but have different sorts of seating areas. We have the reading nook, which is a place that is separate from the main living space, but it’s still connected, so you still feel a sense of togetherness with people who are doing different activities.

So we always knew that the bedrooms would go downstairs, and it’s pretty simple down there. We knew we didn’t want a big bedroom or a big bathroom. We don’t hang out in our bedroom. We hang out up here.

That’s the kind of part of the house where, well, if you look at our stairs, our stairs are right in front of the door.

It’s as if to say to a visitor, just go upstairs, you know?

With the entrance stairs, they basically float. Those are recycled timbers. We like that grand look. A stair in a typical home would be too small. That stairwell has to be in scale with the barn.

Andrew and my style is sort of eclectic. I mean, we wanted it to be more modern, just in terms of how the finishes were just because it’s a barn, and we don’t want to overdo it with the rustic look, like we got it, it’s a barn. We also like a lot of natural finishes, so we kept the natural wood floors.

We knew we wanted to keep the floors in the barn just because they’re unique. Plus they’re laid at an angle, which we always thought was a little bit more interesting, just visually.

They loved the look of the old, so we figured out ways to work around it with the radiant heat and the added insulation, and they get the old true look to the barn, which is what they wanted.

Tim really helped with energy usage within the house. He was very adamant about doing radiant heating just because to do forced air in this huge loft space would have been so expensive and not very efficient at all. He had a plan for what to do with the roof.

My favorite part of the house is actually the framing that holds up the roof.

When I first crawled in here and it was a dirty mess, and I got up on these rickety stairs to the main floor, and I looked up and saw the structure, it was phenomenal.

Not many barns are like this, and we knew right then and there we had to preserve that, so we ended up putting insulation panels over on top on the outside, and then built a new roof on top of that. So they have all the energy efficiency, but they still have the big look inside.

One of the biggest challenges was access to the outdoors from the second floor. I just didn’t like the idea, especially with small children, of looking out the window and seeing them out there and needing help, and having to go run down the stairs to get outside.

We came up with a way of making a wall, back-filling it, putting sandstone on either side, and to this day it looks like that bank has been here forever.

The saving of the wood floor, the grand stairway, the unique heating and cooling that we did, the bank, you put all those elements together and it really makes this a one-of-a-kind barn/home and it will never be duplicated.


(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mws1c9JhCI)