Barn at The Farm

The Barn

Cheri and I... Paul, live in a Barn. No... we're not homeless... and yes we can afford to live in a regular house, but we're really not like "regular people". Living in a Barn suits us just fine.

You can read about how we acquired the Farm in A Love Story, but my first look at the Farm was an adventure. I didn't know whether our van could even get down the driveway. There were foot deep ruts in a washed out steep gravel drive that wound down to a picturesque Cabin at its end. When Cheri suggested looking at the creek, I gave her a quizzical look as I peered at the tangled thicket of head high weeds, briars and bushes that surely blocked any attempt to reach the creek. After some diligent searching, we found a semblance of a path and headed toward the water.

On our way, we passed by what had once been a barn. It was leaning, falling in, washed out and full of all kinds of unsavory bugs and varmints. Just walking inside was an act of daring it to finish its collapse. "Boy," I said, "Somebody needs to get rid of this mess before someone gets hurt in it"

By the way... we did finally get to the creek... and it was beautiful.

With the help of my son Tom, we cleared some of the dense brush and proceeded to haul trash from the Barn.

When I could actually view the whole area, I had my vision... I could see the old barn converted to living quarters... a high deck crossing by a hot tub on its way to a giant Tree House set among a grove of large trees... and stretching out from the middle of the deck, a swinging bridge to a platform around a massive sycamore tree on the creek bank

It was a toss-up whether to try and restore any part of the barn, or bulldoze and burn it. Jerry Vandercook, our illustrious contractor, took a look at the old barn and thought he could probably save the patient, and I inwardly applauded his daring and his resolution. Also, because it was over 50 years old, and an historic part of the Farm, we choose to save a portion and incorporate it into the living quarters. The picture to the left was taken in October 1999, and shows the barn with the siding stripped away before any construction was begun.

Construction on the barn to convert it to living quarters started in earnest in November 1999. The drive was extended to allow construction materials to be delivered. The old lumber was salvaged from the sides of the barn and stacked for later use. One of our first tasks was to pour a three level concrete floor that conformed to the existing elevations in the old structure.

Most of the structure was dismantled leaving only a few of the original posts and the animal stalls in the front of the building facing Carr Creek. A two story section was framed over the animal stalls.

Over the years, we have torn down several abandoned barns to supply wood for our building projects.

Between December 1999 and February 2000 the living quarters to which we would later refer to as the "Barn" was taking shape.

We chose a red tin roof which has become the standard for roofs of all the buildings in the Nostalgiaville complex. By March 2000, the Upper Deck had been extended to the Hot Tub platform and the Ramp to the Upper Deck was completed.

By May 2000, the grass was a lush green, the trees were fully leaved, and the Upper Deck had been extended to the first level of the Tree House. Barn wood siding covered most of the living quarters.

By July, the second level of the Tree House was framed and the Hot Tub was installed in the Upper Deck.

The Back Decks of the Barn next to Carr Creek were taking shape during October 2000 and by February, a board walk had been built leading from the drive to the back deck of the Barn

All of the basic components of the Barn and Tree House complex were complete by April of 2001. The High Deck and Crow's Nest above the Tree House were finally in use.

The first of many Flower Beds to come were built next to the ramp. This view from the Crow's Nest was captured during May 2001

A shot of the Barn and Tree House complex was taken from across the Swinging Bridge on the Sycamore Deck.

The Barn of Winter

At the end of the day, the sun provides magic images across the Barn and across the sky in the west.

Craft Room Entrance Display

During the initial clean up around the farm it was thought important to preserve some of the nostalgic items found... referred to by most simply as "junk" or "trash". Two old wagon wheels and an ancient thrashing machine found their way to the Craft Room entrance wall.

A Flower Bed was added in May 2001 followed in November by a Thanksgiving display As 2002 dawned and a Valentines Day display had been set followed by one commemorating Easter, a tradition had been born of rotating displays for the major holiday seasons.

One of four Knights of Nostalgiaville guarding the Farm was added at the entrance along with a lighted display of quartz crystals found by Cheri and Paul near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Night lighting was also intertwined in Ohio River driftwood along the entrance wall providing an interesting night-time effect.

Craft Room

During early construction of the Barn, the first room to be occupied was the Craft Room. Shelves were built and an assortment of tools brought in to allow Cheri and Paul to begin many of the magic touches to the inside and to begin establishing flower beds on the outside. These pictures were taken in September 2000.

Puzzles put together by Cheri and Paul were transformed into puzzle tiles and form a border around the Craft Room Ceiling Many of the images found around the Farm have been created in the Craft Room. Cheri decorates, repairs, and paints in the Craft Room. The Animal Shelter in the Craft Room provides a loving home for many species of stuffed animals

Waterfall Room

An atrium extends from the ground floor into the upstairs living area. A waterfall trickles into a pool stocked with gold fish. The bottom of the pool is covered with rock finds from our travels into the northwest United States in the year 2000.

An elegant glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling of the atrium creating an interesting contrast as it shines on the raw wood of the old horse stalls below.

Display Shelves against a mirror wall hold antique cigarette lighters collected by Cheri, rocks picked up during our travels, and other interesting keepsakes. Paintings by Cheri adorn the walls of many rooms including the Waterfall Room

The Stalls

In their early scheming, Cheri and Paul wanted to preserve some of the essence of the 50+ year old barn that was being altered for their living quarters. It was decided to keep the old horse stalls on the lower floor of the original barn in their pristine condition (raw crooked wood, chicken nests, broken door hinges, etc... minus the antique spider webs, insects and bird unmentionables that succumbed to a brisk steam cleaning).

Cheri chose one of the three stalls with a window overlooking Carr Creek as her computer room and decorated all of the stalls with collectables and "special memory" items that only a creative four year old can conjure up. Many of her paintings are hung with care on the walls of the stalls.

Green House

Work began on a green house attached to the computer room in the horse stalls to facilitate Cheri's green thumb in January, 2001. The following winter produced a color explosion of many verities of savored flowers.

Creek Side Deck

A spacious lower deck next to and overlooking Carr Creek is truly a magic place where one can really unwind, lean back in a comfortable lounge chair, listen to the sound of water from the creek and waterwheel, and just simply relax. A display of rocks collected from a Southwestern United States rock hunting expedition adorn the back wall of the deck. A quartz crystal display in corner of the upper deck provides special lighting effects at night.

Upstairs Living Area

Our main living area is a large upstairs room in the Barn. This room contains kitchen, dining, living and bedroom functions. A couple of notable features include the stained glass window oriented toward the east to catch the rays of the rising sun. The window was purchased in St Augustine, Florida, and was salvaged from a1902 home built in Oklahoma City. Another feature is the use of puzzle tiles as shown in the last picture. You can learn more about puzzle tiles in the Tree House section.

Closet

Even though construction of the Barn had no formal architectural drawings or plans, almost everything about the design worked well together... except for the closet. The closet looked plenty big when we laid it out, but after a washer and dryer was installed... the room shrank and was tiny. A 12' x 15' addition to one side of the Barn worked much better..

Paintings by Cheri

Cheri is a creative and talented painter... as many four year olds are. Her paintings reflect her mood, producing many colorful and eye appealing images. Cheri's paintings are hung through out the Barn and other buildings at the Farm.

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