Barn homes are great because you have the option to place the entrance just about anywhere. This one appears centered (very nice), yet is actually off to one end of the main living space.  To the left of the main entrance is a first floor entrance to an attached garage with private guest quarters located above.

Turn right at the main entrance and there it is: the famous Yankee Barn Homes great room, in all it’s glory, with all that space and light barn homes famously possess. There’s just something about the lofted space and the symmetry of a barn echoed in the beautifully exposed post & beam frame. 

To the back of the barn home sits an open floor-plan post & beam kitchen with enough space for a number of cooks to work together and enjoy one another as meals are prepared. Even the non-cooks have room to engage in conversation as there is an eat-at bar running the entire length of one side of the kitchen.

Or, should you desire a bit more sun with your conversation, there is a glassed in solarium/breakfast nook just off the other end of the kitchen.  Again, barn homes offer so many options, it is possible for an owner to have just about any space he/she desires.

To complete the tour of this coastal Cape Cod barn home, Let’s take a few peeks upstairs. This second floor hallway space interests me due to it’s intriguing architectural appeal. I love the view to the upper private loft area. I imagine hiding away here with a good book on a rainy summer day listening to the rain on the roof. Ah….

The other space I find extremely appealing is self-evident once you see the photo. Who wouldn’t love this room at the end of a fun-filled day on the beach. This is where I would be found every night! The thing that really makes all the marble work in this master bath, is the contrasting post & beam frame. It accentuates and compliments the white without dominating it – perfect!

So there you have it, just one more in a lengthy line of reasons why I continue to be impressed by the structures built by Yankee Barn Homes!

This is by no means a finite list of flooring options for a Yankee Barn Home. Off the top of my head, I can also think of other flooring types, such as cork, wall-to-wall carpeting and bamboo, to name but a few. Please check the gallery of photos on the Yankee Barn Homes website for even more ideas.

Yankee Barn Homes Barn Home

A gorgeous barn home by Yankee Barn Homes.

When you see a Yankee Barn Homes structure, you know it. There is no trying to guess whether it’s a barn home or not, you can tell by the presence of the building and the well design proportions of the space; and did I mention every one is unique? There are no two-of-a-kind.

Yankee Barn Homes Great Room

A stunning wall of windows in a contemporary barn home by Yankee Barn Homes.

Each Yankee Barn Homes house/carriage house/barn or addition is designed by either the owners themselves (most often done this way) or with the use of an architect. Frankly, many people think they need an architect (I’m totally guilty of this) only to discover, no they don’t. Yankee Barn Homes’ amazing staff has all your requirements covered, from design specialists to engineering designers to the builders, themselves. This professional team guides, while incorporating all the owners wants and needs in a home.

Yankee Barn Homes Carriage House

A Victorian style carriage house by Yankee Barn Homes.

Whether looking for a primary residence, a second home, a carriage house/guest house, an addition or a barn, Yankee Barn Homes will provide everything the potential new homeowner(s) will need, often including a walk through of one of the the many Yankee Barn Homes to be found around the country. Owners are so proud of their homes, they gladly allow potential Yankee Barn Homes home owners the opportunity to get a look and feel for the interior of the these spectacular structures. Once you see one, you won’t soon forget it as thoughts of your very own post & beam will be in over-drive!

Yankee Barn Homes Addition and Barn

A classic style post and beam barn home addition to a 18th Century New England cape.

Please go to the Yankee Barn Homes website to see more wonderful homes and floor plans.

Yankee Barn Homes Barn

 Post. Beam. Dream!

Hopefully, this post was able to show you the many different and unique styles which are possible when decorating a Yankee Barn Homes post & beam master bedroom. Pleasant Dreams….

Both barn homes in East Hampton are the brain-child of Jeffery Rosen of Jeffery Rosen Interior Design, Inc. and his business partner of ten years, Gerard Mingino. Jeffrey is also the current Creative Design Director at Yankee Barn Homes in Grantham, NH. In this post we’d like to take an in-depth look at the first house to go up, hereafter known as 53 Toilsome Lane.

Yankee Barn Homes In The Hamptons

This Yankee Barn home has been designed and built to look like a traditional low-key barn with the exterior sided in a board and baton pattern using a semi-transparent white stain (allowing the wood grain to show through). Let’s take a look at the first and second story floor plans, then delve deeper into where the post & beam barn is today in it’s build process (Please click on a floor plan image to enlarge).

The main body of the house has the traditional Yankee Barn Home  full height living room with two and one-half stories of glass.  There is also a small antique pine-paneled library, a second powder room and master suite on first floor. The second floor has three bedrooms, capturing all the ” barn style” high ceilings with beams showing, two baths, and children’s television/media area.

The basement runs under the entire house with 10 foot high ceilings, over-sized window wells, and a separate walkout entry.  It includes a one bedroom guest apartment, a second bedroom, a media room, a second living room with fireplace and a gym. There are two bathrooms in basement – one for the guest apartment and one for the second bedroom.  Floors are tumbled grey travertine pavers with radiant heat. Let’s take a look at where this house is in it’s build process.

Be sure to check back with Post & Beam Living as these Yankee Barn Homes in The Hamptons are certain to get the full professional photography treatment once completely finished – including landscaping.  I guarantee they will be worth the wait!

1. A Small Footprint

It is entirely possible to build a gorgeous post & beam home of whatever style you like, be it a barn home, carriage house, farmhouse, cottage, coastal or mountain, while living green within a smaller footprint. While your space above ground can “live large”, the impact on the earth may be kept to a minimum.  Each one of the following homes is either under or just over 2,000 square feet. Take a look:

2. True Roof and Wall Panels

 True Panels are custom designed for each Yankee Barn home and include full structural, framed openings for all doors, and most windows are installed. There is a 1 ½” space from the face of the insulation to the inside of the studs leaving very good and easy access for your electrician to run wire without disturbing the insulation. The True Panel System is extremely strong, energy efficient and cost effective, saving you time, money and labor, but best of all, they are extremely efficient at keeping the heat either in or out. They afford less fossil fuel use, hence living green is effortless.

3. The Use Of Douglas Fir Timber From Sustainable Forests

Yankee Barn Homes uses only renewable Douglas Fir for their post & beam frames and supports projects as impressive as The Boreal Deal. Energy Efficiency while living green has been a defining characteristic of Yankee Barn Homes for the past 40 years. A true way for a post & beam building company to support green action.

When looking to build a home with a small environmental footprint, a Yankee Barn home is your energy-efficient answer, as the structure is built with sustainability produced materials by a company that values environmental stewardship.

4.  Excellent Passive Solar Gain

In Wikipedia, passive solar gain is described as such:  “Solar Gain (also known as solar heat gain or passive solar gain) refers to the increase in temperature in a space, object or structure that results from solar radiation. The amount of solar gain increases with the strength of the sun, and with the ability of any intervening material to transmit or resist the radiation.”

Yankee Barn Homes uses of Low-E4 glass windows by Anderson, yet another way for living green. The new Low-E4™ glass reduces water spots up to 99% and minimizes dirt build-up on the window when activated by sunlight.  saves time and money.  Andersen Low-E4™ glass dries faster with fewer water spots but most importantly, energy-efficient Low-E4™ glass also adds the thermal protection of Low-E glass to a home.

Passive solar gain at work in Yankee Barn Homes:

So go ahead, contact Yankee Barn Homes; the earth will thank you and you’ll thank yourself!

Now let’s take a look at how these plans are transforming into the real thing! Intending to be have a contemporary look and feel, the exterior of the farmhouse is already looking fantastic (and all we’re seeing at this point is the “house wrap”, intended as a barrier against air infiltration). Here, we’re looking at the dining room windows and the beginnings of the master bedroom ell.

To the left of the dining room windows is where the media room will be located.

A full shed dormer and bump-out breakfast nook adorn the back side of the home. No connector or carriage barn with guest quarters yet, but we can see the foundation has been poured (in the fore ground of this picture), so we know it’s coming soon!

The beginnings of a contemporary post & beam farmhouse take shape.

From the corner of the pool area, you can already tell this house is going to be spectacular. I can not wait to see it completed!

On the interior, the frame is not only visible but actually commands attention, even amongst all the chaos of construction.

Above is a peek at what will soon be the upper balcony, open to the great room below, along with a guest bath and guest bedrooms. The front left corner seen in this picture will eventually be an office which will have an open view of the great room.

Within a matter of months, this site will go from “construction” to one of occupied home. Check back soon, as I will be posting on this Yankee Barn Homes post & beam farmhouse again, once the exterior and interiors are completed. I can not wait to see this house when it’s finished, as it’s already looking like one spectacular barn home to me!

1. A Vast Array of Exterior Styles

One might think in order to be a barn home, a structure has to look like a barn – Not True! The following pictures are all barn homes.

2. Gorgeous Interior Exposed Post & Beam Frames

In a timber frame home, the post & beam structure takes center stage, but this is not to say it will overpower a decor choice. Just the opposite, actually. A post & beam home gracefully accentuates any interior decorating style.

3. Open Expanses

Because the post & beam frame serves as the “internal support skeleton” of the home, walls can be placed (or not) wherever the homeowner desires. This allows for beautifully lofted spaces and soaring cathedral ceilings.

4. Site Adaptability

No matter the location or look of a site, a barn home has the uncanny ability to unify the terrain and structure into one complete setting. Bucolic is a word which often comes to mind upon viewing these barn homes.

5. Unique Niche Areas

One of my personal favorite aspects of living in a barn home (many of you may already know I live in a stunning Yankee Barn Homes carriage house) is the different niche areas the post & beam frame creates. Some are larger, others are more a vignette than an actual room. It doesn’t matter, they are all unique and special.

Starting off with bang is this entry of old barns that have been brought together and totally rehabilitated to form a barn home compound. There are so many things I love about this property, but I have to say my favorites are the two enclosed courtyards. The first can allow vehicles and is a more public space, while the second is definitely more personal and private. I LOVE the color scheme of charcoal with brick-red trim, and the harlequin diamond patterns on the roofs was a stroke of genius – imagine those shingles all the same color – it would have looked like an endless  sea of roof. Instead, it becomes an interesting feature that draws the eye in a pleasing way. Well done!

Now, this is a timber frame flight-of-fancy. All of the usual, basic elements are here; the timber frame, the large expanse of windows, even the cedar shake shingles. But, Wow, what a creative way to put them all together – and into the side of a steep hillside, to boot! Love it!

Okay, this is a tree house.  A structure who’s sole purpose is for fun and relaxation, even the entrance to it is a rope suspension bridge. Look closely at the brackets holding the couch on the platform – gorgeous!

I barely need to say a word; just looking is inspiration enough. What a magnificent barn home!

There is just something about a post and beam frame that makes my heart go thump. This shed is so cute, I’d want to use it as a summer house. Check out the little covered porch!!

This carriage house by Yankee Barn Homes is still one of the most inspired and inspiring post and beam structures I know. This place keeps getting better and better. Of course, it should; I live here!

Yet to be professionally photographed, the pictures shown here are ones sent in by the home owners.  I promise to do my utmost to get interior pictures so we can all see the inside. In the meantime, I DO have floor plans so at least we’ll see the blue ink version of the interiors.

The side driveway view of this home accentuates its compact size. Smaller should by no means be misconstrued as lacking. This home has all the finer features we’ve come to expect in a Yankee Barn home; in a smaller footprint!

Look at the view from the wrap-around deck! The Blue Ridge Mountains may be seen from just about every window and/or deck of this home. Even the drab surroundings of late fall can not lessen the spectacular scenery offered by this site.

The picture above shows several things: 1) the beautiful stone veneer on the basement walls; 2) the timber frame architectural accents at the peak of the gable; 3) the beautiful glass solarium dining room area; and 4) the addition of an extended deck off the side of the home. The deck is being extend to incorporate more usable outdoor space as this site is so steep, the topography did not afford a flat yard. Therefore, the homeowners did the next best thing by creating one in the form of a deck!

The floor plans show that although the home is smaller square footage-wise, it has the open and airy feel of a much larger post and beam home. Here is the first floor…

… and the second floor. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to move in!