Yankee Barn Homeowners Newsletter Fall 2004

		1-800-258-9786 info@yankeebarnhomes.com newsletter archives
	HOMEOWNERS NEWSLETTER	Fall 2004

To learn how you can design your own barn home, order our Room by Room Design Guide.

Step inside The Brandywine Creek House, a show home created by Yankee Barn Homes located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. We extend you an invitation to visit us.

"We designed this show home from both the inside out and the outside in."

"Our overnight program has grown so much we needed another location to fill the demand," said Tony Hanslin, Chairman and CEO of Yankee Barn Homes. "We also wanted to serve our existing and growing market in the mid-Atlantic. We wanted to be more convenient for our neighbors in the south, as well as people living outside the area to fly-in and visit."

After Tony found the right property, the Yankee Barn design team of Rob Knight, Russ Prudhomme, and Bruce Parsons went to work with the help of interior designer, Charles Riley.

"We envisioned a universal design with the flexibility to fit many different families and lifestyles – from newlyweds to retirees and families with young children to empty nesters," said Bruce, one of Yankee Barn's designers. "We designed this show home from both the inside out and the outside in. We wanted the design and details to show well all the way around."

The design team set out to show-case the open, flexible floor plan with a traditional exterior to fit into the Pennsylvania neighborhood setting.

The center Great Room is framed by a stunning fieldstone fireplace and the large window wall with a view across the valley.

"We designed the exterior of the home to fit in to the surrounding area and follow the traditional nomenclature," said Rob Knight, Vice President. "Inside, we wanted the layout to include the center Great Room that many homeowners have chosen.

The Brandywine Creek House has both a formal traditional exterior on approach and a comfortable, inviting entrance through the farmer's porch or guesthouse barn in the back.

A more formal and symmetrical layout to be built on a smaller lot drove the design process."

The challenge was to design the show home with spacious living areas inside, positioned in equal bays for a symmetrical appearance outside.

In addition, the house, patio, and long driveway could not exceed the erosion control restriction of 10% of the total lot.

The design started with the Anderson frame, a wider frame than the Mark I or Prairie Barn, to enclose the main living area. To take advantage of the view, the frame was sited with the long eave side facing the view. To create the height for the center Great Room cathedral ceiling and window wall, the team added a roof beam dormer. This also provides the focal point and visual center for the exterior.

An ell was added for a master bedroom oasis. While this design provides all the living area on one floor, the bedroom is separated from the main flow of the house.

The second floor bedroom has been decorated as a guest or child's bedroom but could easily be a master bedroom suite.

"With the center living room, we wanted to balance the exterior on either side," said Russ Prudhomme, Vice President of Operations. On one side of the Great Room, the main frame encloses a media room, walk-in closet, and master bath.An ell added to the end creates a large, private master bedroom suite on the first floor.

The other side of the Great Room opens into a large dining room and kitchen. A sunroom was added off the kitchen to create a cook's office.

A connector encloses the laundry room and the back entry. Using a guesthouse frame for the garage, the design provides for a bonus room upstairs. On the second floor of the main frame, a balcony frames the Great Room and connects a large open office area with two bedrooms and a bath.

"We kept our eyes on the details – from the roof lines to the trim, the barn style windows above the farmer's porch roof to the cultured stone supporting the porch posts," said Russ.

The working kitchen with a large island opens into the dining room and Great Room. Glass windows slide open for conversation or can be closed when preparations are underway.

"This home shows that we can do different things for different looks in different areas. From the coast of Maine to the Adirondacks, Pennsylvania to California, we keep our roots in the barn style yet can blend into the countryside anywhere."

"We all worked together to create a space that would lend itself to different interests and different people. Yankee Barn offers many possibilities with flexible areas to meet the practical concerns of living in a house," said Charles Riley, an interior designer with offices in New York City and New Ipswich, New Hampshire.

"With the dynamic interior architecture of a Yankee Barn, you can go in several different directions. You can have contemporary furnishings juxtaposed to Old World or traditional furnishings. We chose a fresh take on country."

"We chose backgrounds, colors and textures to balance the strength of the post and beam architecture," Charles explained.
"We also chose materials and colors to bring the outside in."

By way of examples, Charles points to the bed in the master bedroom with a woven headboard "like a big basket" for a new take on country. Black accents used throughout stand up to the strong architecture. Moss green and terra cotta tiles were selected to bring in the outdoors and add the strength of stone.

"We wanted the house to function for the commuter and for a family. We created an environment for a contemporary lifestyle while respecting the architectural tradition from the past."

Location, Location, Location

Come on inside The Brandywine Creek House and experience first hand Yankee Barn's signature soaring cathedral ceiling, post and beam frame, and open floor plan. See what's new in the designs, building materials, and interior finishes. Located in the beautiful Brandywine Valley near Longwood Gardens, historic Kennett Square, and the Brandywine River Museum, this Yankee Barn show home is just 15 miles north of the Delaware border and within a 45-minute drive from the Philadelphia airport and 1 1/2 hours from the Baltimore/Washington area.

Planning to be in the area? We invite you to tour the Yankee Barn show home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Please call us for open house hours or to schedule your visit.

You are invited to spend the night in the show home. No need to rush through the tour with a quick walk through. You can live in the Yankee Barn for the night. No cost, no obligation, no pressure. If you live outside the area and would like to visit, "fly in" to a nearby airport, and we'll reimburse airfare for two if you buy a Yankee Barn.
To arrange your visit, call 1-800-258-9786 or email info@yankeebarnhomes.com.

"Over the years, our customers ask us to try design ideas and build with new materials. The Brandywine Creek House incorporates many of both our ideas and our customer's ideas. We also showcase the best in the current building materials," said Russ Prudhomme.

To connect the inside living space with the outside, the design included two patios on the front of the house, one with a pergola for partial shade, and a farmer's porch on the back.

The design team started with the Anderson frame, a recent favorite for the main frame. The center bay has 8x8 posts requested by a few home-owners for a more substantial look or as needed for longer expanses. The flooring in the main living area is random-width white oak, a new offering from Yankee Barn.

Window selection and exterior trim were key considerations in the design.

Anderson Woodwright double hung windows and patio doors have a more traditional look for the main house with fixed grilles for divided lights. The guesthouse uses casement windows with removable interior grilles. To achieve low maintenance, the team chose painted cement clapboards for the siding on the main house with "traditional" style pine trim. The guesthouse siding is rough sawn stained pine boards with "barn" style rough sawn pine trim. The farmer's porch pillars are faced with cultured stone.

"Land, as many of our homeowners know, is scarce," said Tony Hanslin, Chairman and CEO of Yankee Barn Homes. He spearheaded the search for the right property for Yankee Barn's new show home. "Not only are the lots smaller, some of the best pieces of property have existing buildings. Don't let an existing house keep you from visualizing a Yankee Barn on the right property," he advised with the benefit of experience that Yankee Barn designs can meet the challenge of a smaller site and a property with an existing building.

Hoping for a location in the mid-Atlantic, he searched in both Maryland and Pennsylvania. He found one property of interest in Maryland with an existing house. "We could tear it down, but rebuilding was not allowed on the site. In this case, the covenants were too restrictive."

In Pennsylvania, he found two properties appropriate for the Yankee Barn show home. One had a price tag of $340K. The other had an existing house and cost $210K.

Open building lots can be scarce and only available at a premium. Homeowners should not overlook a property with an existing building that can be replaced with a Yankee Barn.

"With the $20K cost to tear down, we were still ahead," explained Tony. "This worked for us and can also work for other Yankee Barn homeowners."

Gathering House

The Gathering House, Yankee Barn's show home in Grantham, New Hampshire, is also open for tours and overnight visits. Located just a few miles from the Yankee Barn shop and corporate offices, enjoy a tour of the home and stop by the Yankee Barn workshop. On weekends, most of the hosts and hostesses are Yankee Barn homeowners who know what it is like to live in a Yankee Barn. To arrange a visit, call 1-800-258-9786 or email info@yankeebarnhomes.com.

"We often get asked about building a Yankee Barn long distance. After our experience with the show home in Pennsylvania, I can speak from the homeowner's experience. Yes, you can build long distance," said Rob Knight, Vice President of Yankee Barn Homes. From his office in Grantham, New Hampshire, Rob oversaw the building of The Brandywine Creek House working with Michael J. Hazley, Inc., builder of custom homes and fine additions in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

"The relationship with Yankee Barn was great. Everyone was easy to work with, organized, and friendly. This made the building process much easier," said Mike. "While building a post and beam is different than traditional construction – and this was our first post and beam – with Yankee Barn's detailed plans and thorough organization, the process went smoothly."

"We built in January, during one of the coldest winters on record. We were closed in within two weeks. We started and finished the home in the timeframe given us."

"A Yankee Barn supervisor came on site to help us put the shell together. This is a very important part of the process and well worth the cost. The supervisor is used to working with the materials and the system."

"The key is to plan ahead of time. We spent time working through the plans before building. We also reviewed the construction guide, visited the factory and show home in New Hampshire, and saw a couple of houses under construction."

"Everyone at Yankee Barn was very accommodating. When there were changes, or problems came up, they listened to our solutions. They were never stuck on doing it their way. They helped us out to make it work for them, and for us."

HOMEOWNERS NEWSLETTER