Phase II: the Loft

In our current Phase II of the farmhouse renovation I've already written about the barn room and the loft and storage rooms.  In this post I'll focus on the remaining portion of the barn:  the Loft. 
As previously mentioned, I've always had a very clear vision of what the barn room should look like;  I didn't think a great deal about the other rooms in the barn structure- the mud room, the storage room and the loft.  But, during the renovation they have organically become these really wonderful and charming spaces and have quickly become favorites!

The first two photos show the loft space as it looked when we found the property.  The trio of windows (which face west) are all in the loft and can be used for reference when looking at the exterior photos to see where this room lies in relation to the rest of the barn.  

This photo was taken from the location of our future master closet...

This closet. 

The framed square "box" in this photo is our master closet.  For size perspective the master closet measures 14' x 17'.  The barn room sits directly under the closet.  As you will see in later photos a wall will be built off of the beam in the forward part of the photo to close off what we call the master closet storage room, a U-shaped room that wraps around the closet.  Antique homes are well-known for their lack of closets, so where ever we can we add storage space.

The collar ties run the full length of the barn roof- over the master closet through the loft space.

We want to leave all the rough hewn, timber frame construction exposed as it is such a beautiful element in the space.

This is the loft facing south.  If you were to look out that left window you would look towards the farmhouse.  The walls of the barn are insulated using a closed cell soy-based blown-in insulation, which is why the walls are green!





The first finish-board going up on the ceiling on the north side.   I put a white pickling stain on the rough-sawn fir boards (and of course when I say "I" I mean I had the painter do it;)

This photo gives you a great view of the master closet and the U-shaped area that surrounds the closet that will become storage space. 

The gable peak in the loft measures over 17 feet!

The ceiling going up on the south side.

When we were initially working on the design of this room it was suggested to us that it would be easier (and in construction terms that means "cheaper") to put in a flat ceiling and cover up the collar ties.  We didn't see that as an option, as we felt strongly that they were an important element in the room.  What that meant is that each finished ceiling board would need to be individually scribed into and around the collar ties, a time-consuming and arduous process.

As is evident in this photo we have some very talented craftsmen working the job.

Closing in the gable...

The final finish-board on the ceiling at the peak of the gable.

The finish "barn wood" walls going in.  All wall boards in the barn (except in the barn room) are hung horizontally, as would be commonly seen in an antique barn.

I am really thrilled as to how the rough-cut pine wall boards turned out.  This stain formula was my custom designed mix (here I really do mean that "I" came up with this formula, not the painter;)
 

The raw pine boards leaning on the wall are how the boards looked naturally prior to my stain being applied.

Wall boards going in on the west wall.

In this photo you can see how the timber frame construction is left exposed and will play a big role in the architecture of the finished room.

The master closet/storage room wall being closed in.

Almost complete!   Lighting was added to the closet storage area, so in this photo you can see one side of the U-shaped space.  Below the storage room space (behind the ladder) you can see into the barn room.

The completed master closet/storage space wall.
The antique iron lantern was originally purchased to be placed on the exterior of the barn between the two sets of french doors off of the barn room.  When we moved the chimney to the outside of the barn this meant that the fixture was no longer going to work there.  While discussing this with my friend Steve ( An Urban Cottage ),  he asked me if there was any place inside the barn that I could use the lantern??   I walked the fixture through and voila!!
  The lantern is rather large and the scale is perfect in the space!   Thanks for the suggestion Steve!

 This photo was taken tonight.  We are currently working on materials for the stair railing.  The grills are off of the AC/heating vents being painted to blend into the barn wood.  Note the sweet down-filled chair found by the side of the road last winter frozen in the snow- Dan literally had to chip it out of the ice!

The windows have been trimmed with the same barn wood as the walls.

love!

don't you just love it when things start comes together?!

a post script....

For those of you who inquired about the stain formula you can find it in "my paint colors" on the sidebar!

do you Craigslist?!

If you do then you know the great finds that can be found; if you don't may I suggest you do!

One of our favorite stops on Craigslist is the "free" section.  We are constantly shocked and amazed at the really good things that people give away for free.  (We are also shocked and amazed that people list postings like:  one free container of baby formula - I kid you not!) 
I can't tell you how many times I have told Dan I could decorate a whole house with the things that people give away.  I do acknowledge that we seem to have a very generous free listing section here in New Hampshire.    For example...before Thanksgiving there were probably 50 listings giving away Thanksgiving dinner to families in need- some with all the ingredients to make your own, some in a restaurant and some actually invited strangers into their home.  I realize this sounds crazy and frightening to many (depending on the size of your city) but we have found New Hampshire to have a very helpful and generous spirit.  I thought maybe this was the new "thing" but after looking at a dozen cities (of varying size) across the country the only place I found people offering free Thanksgiving dinners to those in need was here. 
But, even if your free section isn't as overly generous-  still check, you never know what you will find!

Yesterday Dan and I (and, of course, sweet Ella) drove 5 hours round trip, in the snow to pick up a free antique Victorian sofa that we found on Craigslist.  Neither of us could bare the thought of it going on the burn pile which was to be its next stop (the burn pile was literally roaring when we arrived!)   It was a very dark day which is why this photo is so grainy.  This is how we found the sofa- sitting alone in the dark corner 'praying' it wasn't next to go on the fire.  I thought it would make a fine addition to the loft (office space) that we are creating in the barn.  To be perfectly honest, this is not a typical style of sofa that I would normally chose, but it was exactly because of that, and that I think the lines will look fabulous with the exposed beams of the room that I wanted to have a closer look!   The piece is indeed antique with its original horse hair peaking from under the springs, and once the rather ornate woodwork is sanded down and either left with hints of the white paint (that someone unfortunately slapped on years ago), or maybe painted a gloss black- then upholster in a brown/mushroom velvet with one long, down-wrapped linen cushion......  I'm thinking it will be fabulous and fun, and it was FREE!!!

Look past the hanging springs, the b.a.d. white paint on the frame and the nasty 1970's upholstery ripped and exposing even older upholstery to the lines and curves of the back and the arms!  The sofa is really long and deep, and looks perfect for napping!  And, if you can't look past all those things, then I will say what I occasionally say to Dan.... "trust me on this one!"

Dan and the husband of the woman who posted the listing carrying the sofa through several feet of snow as it wouldn't fit through the doorways to enable it to be carried out the front of the barn.
A favorite part of this sofa story for me is that this couple was hired to clean/clear out the house and the barn, no doubt making minimum wage... that the woman saw the beauty in the sofa and took the time to take a photo, post a listing and take phone calls regarding the sofa warms my heart.  It would have been much easier to simply toss the sofa on the fire and be done with it.  I thanked her profusely for taking the time to help the sofa find a new life (and slipped them a twenty;)

This iron chandelier will find its home in the barn room, and is another recent Craigslist find.  
And, although I paid for this one it was still an amazing find and bargain!  I have had my eye out for a chandelier for the barn room for well over a year.  The room is a good size, and I knew it would need a rather large chandelier.  I knew I would not find anything that large in an antique, and all the beautiful new ones I could find that were large enough were thousands of dollars, and that wasn't in the budget!  One day I thought to look on Craigslist, and kept expanding my search to neighboring states.  I stumbled on this beauty in Connecticut (another 5 hours round trip!)   People are notorious for posting bad, blurry photographs and not giving any information, so don't hesitate to ask.  In the original photo this chandelier was laying on the ground in front of what was obviously a really large staircase and it covered the expanse, so I knew it was big.  I was thrilled to find out that it was just over 4 feet.....  perfect scale for the room!

She was asking $300, I offered $250 and got it!!

The chandelier is not old, but is hand wrought and has great lines.

Dan and our carpenter hung the chandelier in the barn room so I could see it up and see the scale!  I will probably paint it  a brown/rust color.  The piece of plywood is giving the illusion of a large candle sleeve!  (oh, and I'm sure some of you are wondering.... the green stuff on the wall is soy-based insulation!)

I would love to hear of your great Craigslist finds!