A Southern Vacation Home Trots Out Equestrian Style
When Terry Pylant, leader at Historical Concepts, came across a barn conversion in this client’s inspiration record for her family’s next home, the customer told him”I am attracted to this, but I don’t know whether I wish to stay in a barn.” Inspired by the notion and how this South Carolina land was near the horse stables in its private neighborhood, he designed a house that looks like an equestrian building, laid out in a manner which suits the family’s relaxed Lowcountry lifestyle. The house also has a dogtrot house design; separate zones for children, parents, in-laws and frequent use; and a few industrial details. Have a closer look at just how barn design wound up satisfying the customers just fine.
at a Glance
Who lives here: This is a vacation home for a family of 4
Location: Spring Island, South Carolina
Size: 2,900 square feet; 3 bedrooms, 31/2 bathrooms and also a 1-bedroom, 1-bath guesthouse
Historical Concepts
Big sliding barn doors and Bahama shutters punctuate front of the house and also let the owners batten it down when they head home to Princeton, New Jersey. The shutters function like Bermuda shutters but are planked to match in with barn design.
Historical Concepts
Historical Concepts
A cupola and dormers on the roof let in light and make ventilation, important elements in the home’s layout; the windows are open and operational via a motor.
Details like electrified gas lanterns, board and batten siding, a metal roof and exposed vent pipes add to the barn feeling.
Historical Concepts
Historical Concepts
The neighborhood required muted colours; Pylant chose a woodsy palette which blends well with the coastal trees and shrubs around the house. He added a bit of barn red in the window trim.
Paint colours: siding: Norwich Brown; trimming: Mountain Moss; windows: Georgia Brick, all by Benjamin Moore
Historical Concepts
Large barn doors open to the open dogtrot entrance area. (A dogtrot is an open breezeway, and dogtrot homes are common in Lowcountry.) Large displays are wrapped in pockets so the whole opening can be screened, allowing the breeze without letting in the bugs.
Historical Concepts
The dogtrot supplies an open-air entrance that receives light in the cupola overhead. A catwalk connects a bunk space to a sitting room/office upstairs.
“We maintained the catwalk as open as possible so that it didn’t block too much light in the cupola,” Pylant states. “The industrial texture is an interesting counterpoint to the barn fashion.”
A large fireplace draws everyone into the dogtrot during cold months. “The owners tell me that the dogtrot is a magnet for individuals each time they have parties,” he states.
Historical Concepts
The owners wanted the kitchen sink to look out to the dogtrot fireplace; windows share the light and make the idea of a horse stall. “I can’t tell you how essential the common light is in this house,” Pylant states.
Putting the sink on the dogtrot side dictated that the range be placed in the island, and the customers’ variety required a commercial vent hood.
Frustrated with all the options available (too contemporary or overly average ), Pylant wanted something big scale which looked like it had been fashioned from farm equipment. “Our builder, Monty Jones, is a true artisan,” he states. Jones had some metalworkers custom fabricate the drum using a standard commercial range insert. When asked about the finish, the owners instead enjoyed the fingerprints and discoloration and wanted to see what could happen if they just left it alone. Now it’s a exceptional patina that adds another dose of well-worn industrial fashion.
Historical Concepts
The upstairs windows share the light in the sitting room/office with all the downstairs living room.
“We couldn’t do a barn house and not utilize wide-planked pine floors,” Pylant states. He used 12-inch ponderosa pine planks, which stand up to kids and dogs.
Historical Concepts
In the primary living space, spacious planks on the walls include more barn feeling. “These are just pine planks butted up against each other,” Pylant states. “They maintain the simple, clean appearance that conveys the barn look through the interior.” Native Aged Savannah Gray bricks give the chimney an outdated appearance.
Additionally carrying the barn theme through are rough-hewn beams intended to evoke a hayloft.
Historical Concepts
Other parts of the house have concrete floors, for example, dining area, screened-in porch and dogtrot area. All the spaces flow in a logical manner; a few paces permit the family to choose between the indoor dining area and the screened-in porch at mealtimes.
Historical Concepts
Tall pine trees and the screened-in porch along the back of the house mitigate the direct sunshine.
Historical Concepts
The thoughtful design was quite important to the way the family lives here, especially when the children bring friends home. The children have a two-story zone on one side of the house, the communal areas are located at the center, and the parents have a first-floor master suite off the back of the house.
The upper floor would be the son’s domain; it includes a bedroom, a bunk room and a little sitting room (at the end of the catwalk) and a bath. “You will find a bunch of bunks; you can pile up children like a cord of wood,” Plyant states. Downstairs the girl has a bedroom, bath and sitting area.
Historical Concepts
This is the upstairs sitting area, which overlooks the living area. Each one of the great light coming in throughout the dormers is shared with the first floor.
The son’s and kid’s zones will also work when they develop, as guest suites where they can remain with families of their own.
Historical Concepts
On the back, the master suite is at the left; its arrangement is intended to resemble a secure supervisor’s office inserted onto the barn.
Historical Concepts
A glass corridor contributes to the main bedroom and a tiny office. Barn doors create the idea of rooms as former horse stalls.
“One means that vacation home offices differ is that they need to enjoy the view and light,” Pylant states.
Thanks to telecommuting, the family can spend long stints in South Carolina, but it was important for the workspace to also incorporate the gorgeous surroundings.
Historical Concepts
The parental zone also has its own private patio.
Historical Concepts
More pine planks on the walls, pine countertops and a claw-foot tub give this bath relaxed country style.
Historical Concepts
The property also includes a garage with storage area overhead. “The window is great, because no one wants to go as much as a dim and dank loft to locate something,” Pylant states.
There’s a garden between the garage and the guesthouse, which serves as a private space for seeing grandparents.
More: See more converted barns and barn-inspired houses