Blue Ridge Barn Charms Contour Homestead
The exis(ng early 1800s cabin on the property was inspira(onal, but not func(onal for their needs, recalls Peter LaBau, the Contour’s regionally based architect located in CharloAesville VA. It wasn’t salvageable, “but did have exposed stone on the founda(on and a rambling look with older and newer pieces joined, and that really moved them," he says.
We live on 55 acres, says Erin Contour; most of which is forested but our home is in the middle of an approximately 8 acre meadow. We wanted to add a barn to allow outdoor ac(vi(es in the winter, store larger outdoor equipment, have chickens and space for poQng, compos(ng etc. Our goal for it's architectural design was for it to work well with the house, be a simple structure but have some interest architecturally because we can see it directly out of the Great Room windows in the house.
One part of the trick of building this structure was si(ng. We eventually chose to put it just east of the house in the meadow, within easy walking distance. We can get up to 4' of snow in the winter here so the idea of not having to trek real far to get to the barn had tremendous appeal. We also did not want to block any of the house's primary view, which is expansive. It looks over the southern end of the Roanoke Valley at the Blue Ridge Parkway on the distant mountain ridge.
The site was the only larger flat area in our meadow; we did not want to spend a great deal of money excava(ng. Even s(ll, when the footers of the barn went in they found that area was in fact old fill and there were nails da(ng back to the early 1900s in the dirt. We're not sure what was there, but likely some smaller outbuilding for the original owner's cabin, which was located a bit west of where our current house is.
To both reduce cost and create some architectural interest, the barn was designed in a T shape. The longer area is my husband's space where he currently has his baQng cage, a wonderful stress relief from work. I oZen see him wandering from his work place in our basement (where he telecommutes to the engineering company he's worked for now 24 years, located in San Diego) to the barn and back about a half hour later. The smaller front area is mine, we piped in water so I could add an outdoor sink for poQng. There is another faucet outside near the front "people" door in to the barn. I've already got a large barrel composter and my garden tools out there and I'm star(ng to design my workspace. Rather excited to get in to that next spring.
The bank of windows above the barn doors on the north eleva(on let in a tremendous amount of light, as do those lower windows which can be opened for breeze in the summer. We chose also to install large square outdoor fans in the peak of the roof (north and south eleva(ons) to be able to force air through in the summer and further cool the barn during the peak of the summer heat. We are able to turn on these fans and the barn's outdoor lights from inside the house. Given we enjoy some 'fun' in our architecture, we wanted to leverage the wonderful Windswept lumber for the outside... but use a color that was not used on the house.
Given we enjoy some 'fun' in our architecture, we wanted to leverage the wonderful Windswept lumber for the outside... but use a color that was not used on the house. We ul(mately choose the dark brown (you'd best figure out the exact color we ordered, because I'm not posi(ve) that echoed the tone of the small old barn we have below the house, the last remaining 'vintage' structure on a property that has known only 3 owners since the late 1880s. We also love this siding for use in this area where there are wood-‐boring bees that can cause tremendous destruc(on in buildings they take a fancy to. It was our observa(on aZer moving in to our home that these bees do not like the Windswept siding, we assume it has something to do with the produc(on process and the more deeply embedded finish. Whatever the reason, by elimina(ng the threat of those pests it is a highly desirable material here. Tour Windswept Weathered Wood Sidings http://harvest-timber.com
The roofing is a classic metal, echoing the roof on the house. We used the same exterior sconces over the large barn doors that we used on the southern side of the house, large grey barn sconces. The trim and pergolas were painted the same gray that was used on the house; similarly the barn soffits were painted the 'haute blue' that we have come to love on the house. All these elements were leveraged to create a stronger visual (e between the structures.
Peter LaBau, LLC RESIDENTIAL DESIGN P. 434.295.5959 2079 HAWKSHILL LANE CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22911 peter@peterlabau.com www.peterlabau.com
Glen Ehrhardt, President Harvest Timber Specialty Products PO Box 59 Lakebay, WA 98349 p. (253) 884-‐6255 f. (253) 884-‐6256 email windsweptwood@gmail.com web www.windsweptweatheredwood.com