Barn Update

I have been remiss in not letting you all see our finished barn renovation.  It took much longer than we anticipated, but has been complete for several months now and was well worth the wait!

The barn looks the same on the outside with the exception of an overhang section at the back which now holds our winter's supply of hay.  When you walk in the door now, you are faced with a hallway.  Directly in front of you is the 5 star dog kennel :-)  complete with light, heated pad and water, and doorway leading to the fenced pasture outside. 

Directly to your right upon entering the barn is a heated bathroom.  THIS has been the quintessential element for our barn remodel and is a great thing to have!! No more walking through the garage and into the house with muddy, mucky boots!! The floor in the bathroom is just painted cement with weaved grass rugs -- very easy to clean.

We now have a large center aisle with designated rooms on either side.  This space is large enough to drive through, but mostly it will just house our ping pong and foosball tables when not kept empty for taking pictures.  The door on the left is the tack room.  The small door on your right is the workshop.  The two massive, sliding doors are usually open and also open onto the workshop.  Directly to the right of where Joe is taking the picture is our small garden room.  Above the tack room, bathroom, and dog kennel is a large open loft space serving as an attic for storage.  At the very back of the barn, on the right, is a small space allowing for a mower to park there, but which is currently housing a shelf with animal supplies and our freezer.  Joe chose everything (upon my happy relinquishment of needing to make any more choices in life!) from wood, to stain color, to doors and various shelving units and I think he did a great job!

There are three spacious stalls on the left.  Each has a solid sliding door with the bar "window" which is able to come down so that theoretically horses could stick their heads out.   One stall serves as a storage stall -- but we have solid shelves and it is fairly "tidy" (for Joe anyway) :-)   The other two stalls have waterers and will be used for livestock eventually, once we remove the cement floors.  

That is next on the unending list of things to do .....

We have a small but very useable tack room now with nifty saddle hooks on the walls and Joe's specially designed and welded horseshoe hooks mounted next to shelves that you can't see in this picture.  He and Isabelle had a lot of fun planning and putting together this room.  It smells of stain, leather, and horses.  What more could a daddy and daughter want??

Another awesome addition is our small "garden" room where we store all our yard work supplies. Previously strewn throughout the barn,  everything now has a designated place -- even buckets, potato sacks, and poison which are housed in a beautiful matching "barn armoire" not pictured that was hand built by the guys who did all the building.  This room has its own door to the outside which has been great.  When getting yard supplies, I can just come directly into this room.

The handy hooks hold a myriad of tools as well, leaving more floor space for wheelbarrows, etc.

Joe's workshop is the most detailed portion of the barn.  This is the cleanest you'll ever see it, but at least we know it is well loved and used.  Above the workbench is a storage loft for wood -- and also Isabelle's special place to "work" when Joe is busy below.  Notice the handy ladder?  Directly behind where he is standing are several floor to ceiling shelves housing more tools, storage, and a fridge (necessary to hold beekeeping supplies, Diet Cokes, and Otter Pops in the summer -- all things Mom wouldn't allow in the house!).   Nana provided the great rubber mat as a Christmas gift -- which provides a softer, giving place to stand for long periods of time.

And finally, we have the dart board area complete with homemade dart holder, behind the board wood protector (for those wayward darts of Isaac's), and closeable doors!  Joe's so cute .... he and the boys spend many an hour out here (What?? I thought they were working!!) using the Christmas gift I gave them this year.  It has been a big hit and Joe has had fun getting it all fitted for regular use.

Thirteen years ago when we bought this home and property, THIS is what I pictured the barn being used for.  It is such a blessing to see that dream come to fruition!  Come on over and visit ..... we'll probably be in the barn!  :-)