BARN LUCKY
6 charming former farms for sale around the tristate area
Almost any building, from a church to a school, can be transformed into a house. But converted barns in particular hold the inexplicable allure of Americana. Curious about what life would be like in a building where the dairy cows once slept or the tractors were stored? Just in time for harvest season, check out these properties within driving distance of New York, with décor ranging from rustic to contemporary.
$679,900 419 Weekeepeemee Road, Woodbury, Conn.
This converted barn bucks tradition with an eye-catching green exterior. Antique wood beams and a fieldstone fireplace bestow a sense of history, but the interiors still function practically, with modern additions like a spacious kitchen and an upper-level master suite. The house comes with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a lower level with protected garage space for collectors of cars, antiques or the like. The property, on the market with Lori Campbell at Coldwell Banker, sits on 2.3 acres that abut conservation land.
$1.49 million 34 Elwyn Lane, Woodstock, NY
This 1865-built former horse barn has been transformed into a gallery and residential space, which sprawls over 10,000 square feet. Exposed hand-hewn beams, bluestone walls and an original cupola are vestiges of the building’s past, while an industrial chef’s kitchen and a penthouse suite with five bedrooms and amenities like a hand-carved redwood sauna set the property up for its next life as a personal residence or a bed and breakfast. The former post and beam barn sits on half an acre a short walk from the center of town, and is being offered by Judy Steinfeld at Halter Associates Realty.
$1.5 million 2425 Butter Creek Road, Quakertown, Penn.
Located in a gated Bucks County estate called Butter Creek Farm, the converted barn isn’t the main residence on this property, but it’s certainly the most outstanding. The outbuilding has been repurposed into a striking two-bedroom, two-bathroom guest house with a double-height living area flaunting exposed wood beams and stone walls. The farm here is still operational, too, and the whole shebang includes a stone farmhouse considered the main house, a six-stall barn with a tack room and yet another pole barn all on close to 23 acres. Vickie Landis at Keller Williams Realty Group has the listing.
$679,000 516 Hover Ave. Extension, Germantown, NY
An old barn doesn’t easily lend itself to contemporary interiors, but the property’s current owners pull off the look with aplomb. The 4,000-squarefoot former post and beam barn dates to the turn of the 20th century, and while its building materials suggest a certain antiquity, its open and airy floor plan reads all modern. That’s especially true in the kitchen, which has been updated in the last year with indigo cabinets, stainless steel appliances and a farmhouse sink. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, which sits on 2 acres, is being marketed by Tracy Dober of Gary DiMauro Real Estate Inc.
$980,000 25 Welsh Road, Lebanon, NJ
From the telltale silo to the soaring double-height living area with exposed trusses, this 8,970-square-foot house in Tewksbury Township proudly displays its rural past. It’s been thoughtfully updated with a spacious kitchen that opens to the family room, a 1,100-square-foot brick patio for entertaining and an outdoor pool. The four-bedroom, five-plus bathroom house is repped by Elizabeth Baber Winters at Sotheby’s International Realty.
$1.15 million 220 South State Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Just 45 minutes north of the city on Metro North’s Hudson Line, this former dairy barn dates to 1875 and is believed to be the erstwhile summer retreat of Harold Caparn, the landscape architect behind the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (who followed the Olmsted brothers’ overall plan). The property has since been converted into a three-bedroom, three-bathroom house covering 3,000 square feet. A great room with 20-foot ceilings and a prominent stone fireplace create an architectural point of interest in this historic property, which is for sale by its owner.