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"We honestly can't think of anything we
should have done differently."Cyndy and Steve began dreaming about building a Yankee Barn during a visit to her brother's New Hampshire home in 1984.
"We visited the original Yankee Barn model on South Cove, and loved it," remembered Cyndy. "We loved the beams, the design, the big window. We always thought, somehow, someway, we'll be in a Yankee Barn."
"For the past several years, we lived a real barn experience…living in a 5000-square-foot refurbished barn," said Steve. "That experience helped us build this home."
When the time was right, they found a wooded northern New England site and started planning their home. With help from Michael Beaulieu, one of the designers at Yankee Barn Homes, plus several visits to the model home, their plan took shape.
"We told Mike what we wanted: a good size home, not too big, with room for lots of family and friends," said Steve. "We both cook, and entertain, and wanted the kitchen to be a focal point. We also wanted three master bedrooms to accommodate us and our two sons' families when they visited."
"We also designed everything to be open to our main event window in the Great Room," explained Cyndy. "Windows are important to us. From anywhere in the house, you can look out a window in at least one direction, and usually two or three."
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From the Great Room, family and friends can enjoy the view through the main event window and be part of the activity in the kitchen and breakfast area. |
Nestled on a wooded site in New Hampshire,
Steve and Cyndy designed their Yankee Barn
to take advantage of the forest views from
inside and out.
"When I'm up in my office, I want to see into the Great Room, and out the main event window to the sunset and the woods," added Steve. "When either of us is in the kitchen, we want to be part of the activity in the Great Room."
 To achieve the open concept on the main floor, Steve and Cyndy removed all potential obstacles from the main living space. With a post and beam frame, no walls are needed within the frame for support. The fireplace, often a centerpiece in the layout of a Yankee Barn, found a home on the side of the Great Room. Stairs to the second floor were placed at the gable end opposite the large window wall, removing another potential break in the flow.
"We have our main events," said Cyndy. "The kitchen is in the center of everything, and we take in the views through the main event window."
Steve and Cyndy used a unique heating system, a gas stove in each room and an insert in the fireplace, avoiding the need for duct work or baseboards. |
The kitchen is front and center in the floor plan with a granary for extra width to enclose the workspace and an informal dining area. Cyndy wanted the formal dining room to be part of the flow rather than off by itself in a separate room. She designed a buffet to separate the dining room from the kitchen. "I knew we would use the dining room more often if it became part of the kitchen."
"We wanted to live in our house, and always see the whole space," said Steve. "We use every square foot of it."
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"We love this house. We love living in it," said Cyndy. "I honestly can't think of anything we should have done differently." Steve agreed. "Would we do it again? Not in the next year, but if we did build another Yankee Barn, it would be different. Every Yankee Barn is different."
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Cyndy planned every detail before
construction including the placement
of antiques and decorative beams.
"You can do so much with a Yankee Barn. We thought about the flow between spaces and where to put the furniture to create rooms without walls," said Cyndy. "You can't get an open feeling if you have walls. You need to think about the sight lines, the flow, what people will see when they are in each space."
She planned everything around the furniture that they had. "I knew what I wanted to use, an antique desk near the kitchen, Steve's grandmother's formal dining room set, the hutch to hold photo albums in the Great Room, and oriental rugs to create the feeling of separate spaces."
From placing her mother's chandelier in the powder room and lanterns outside, to using antiques as cabinets and choosing decorative beams, Cyndy thought through each detail. She measured the furniture and the potential spaces before the Yankee Barn was built in the shop and after the shell was erected on the site. "A Yankee Barn is so flexible. We could easily make changes. We moved interior walls, used partial walls to keep the space open up to the beams, and took out an interior wall that blocked the view."
Steve gives Cyndy all the credit on the details. "Yankee Barn made the house. Cyndy made it a home with her design sense and her attention to details. Cyndy took what Yankee Barn did and gave it our personality." |
 "We're frustrated innkeepers," jokes Cyndy. "We wanted this home to feel like an inn with the kitchen as the focal point, lots of space to entertain, and large guestrooms to retreat to."
She even named the guestrooms, The Nantucket Room and The Woodstock Room. She planned each one with an adjoining private bath and a small closet space. The game room, located over the garage, gives the generations a "play" area for movies, visiting, and billiards. Just off the game room is the Eastman Room, a bedroom for the grandchildren.
"We wanted our kids to be comfortable here with their kids," said Steve. "We wanted the full height upstairs in the bedrooms for a feeling of space and for full height windows."
Many homeowners chose the Prairie Barn frame with 6' kneewalls, but Steve and Cyndy didn't want the attic loft. Instead, they selected the Mark I frame and raised the kneewalls from 5 feet to almost 7 feet. The added height provided space for more headroom and standard size windows upstairs. The height also added to the width of the granary downstairs that enclosed part of the kitchen and the breakfast area.
"We designed our home to have a vacation feel. We live in the Great Room, and enjoy cooking and entertaining," said Steve. "This Yankee Barn works well for us." |
Self-described "frustrated innkeepers" Steve and Cyndy designed their Yankee Barn with the kitchen as a focal point for entertaining and three master bedrooms, each with a private bath, to accommodate their guests. |
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Steve Strussenberg of Strussenberg Construction in Springfield, N.H. is no stranger to building Yankee Barns. When he moved to the area in 1976, he was introduced to Yankee Barn Homes while building a deck on the South Cove model home in Eastman. Over the years, he has built over 30 barns including Steve and Cyndy's. Here's his advice to future barn builders:
"The people at Yankee Barn are good to work with. They have always been amenable and easy to deal with. Because I am local, I can just stop in  and ask a question. If you aren't local, you can always get hold of them by phone. They will answer your questions and give you the information you need.
When erecting the frame, my advice is to be organized, make sure the frame holds dimensions, and if you have any questions, call Yankee Barn. The first few times you erect a Yankee Barn you would benefit from hiring a Yankee Barn supervisor. The supervisor knows how the barn goes together. Yankee Barn makes changes and updates, so even after erecting a few Yankee Barns, hiring a supervisor would be helpful.
As far as differences to conventional building, the post and beam is quicker to get undercover and weather-tight. The solid panels on the walls may require the tradespeople to be more innovative or creative in running wires, plumbing and heating, but this can easily be surmounted. Because the post and beam structure is self-supporting, the interior walls can go anywhere.
I enjoy doing the post and beam. It is a chance to do something slightly different." |
