HOMEOWNERS NEWSLETTER

Upon her retirement from a private boarding school, Anneke set out in the rolling hills of Litchfield County, Connecticut, to find an old house; one that had settled into the landscape over the past two hundred years. She described what she found in searching for a home as "a lot of money to buy an old place and even more to fix it up." For guidance, she turned to a local architect, Roy Gilley, Gilley Design Associates Architects in Bristol, Connecticut. The two traipsed the landscape and looked at lots all over the area until Anneke found the perfect five-acre property with open fields for gardening and cross-country skiing, a wood lot, and a small barn. Roy suggested the small barn on the property be converted into a garage with a greenhouse, and a Yankee Barn be built for her home.

"Five or six years ago, I had just built a barn as my home, and quite accidentally ran across Yankee Barn in a magazine. I had to have a look and visited the model. I fell in love with it," said Roy. "I sent a letter around to my clients, a few were interested, but nothing came of it until Anneke contacted me."

Anneke visited the Yankee Barn model home in Grantham, New Hampshire, and knew this was what she wanted in her home.

Anneke designed her dining room and kitchen in one large, central area to serve as the heart of her home and a gathering place for friends and family.

"The house looked warm, felt warm, and had lots of light. Plus, it had the old look with the post and beam," said Anneke. "It was pleasant being there. I had made my decision."

After meeting with Bob Mahoney, one of the Yankee Barn designers, Anneke looked through the plans in the Yankee Barn Design Guide. "I wanted a traditional, New England style house. When I saw the Gillie saltbox, I knew that's what I wanted."

Bob Gillie's Yankee Barn (no known relationship to architect Roy Gilley) has the look of a colonial saltbox created by using a 40' Prairie Barn frame with a 40' granary along one side to form the shape. Anneke was drawn to the exterior finish details of the clapboard siding and colonial-style windows. Inside, the floor plan fit Anneke's needs with a few modifications. (See Plans as a Starting Point.)

"I wanted an old look, inside and out, with a warm feeling and that's what I have in this Yankee Barn," said Anneke.

As the Director of Athletics and a French teacher at Westover School for over 30 years, Anneke had lived in a house on campus. While she had never built before, she felt comfortable from her first visit to Yankee Barn, throughout the design process with the technical staff, and during the conscientious work by the Yankee Barn supervisor at the barn raising. "I had so much confidence in Yankee Barn, I knew everything would be fine," said Anneke. "I had no problems with Yankee Barn. They did everything they said they would."

"Yankee Barn has been totally reliable and wonderful to deal with," said Anneke. "The people at Yankee Barn are very thoughtful and kind. They are wonderful to talk to, they explain everything, and are very accommodating. I highly recommend them." Roy agrees. "Yankee Barn has a good system that is adaptable to a whole range of looks. We had a good working relationship. Everyone loves the house."

Upstairs, Anneke has a master bedroom suite with bath, a large guest room with bath, and several walk-in closets.

"My home is everything I ever dreamt of. I love waking up in the house, going downstairs, and enjoying both inside and out." She also enjoys going outside at dusk, with her six-month-old Weimaraner. "I go outside and look at the outline of the house. I stand there and admire my Yankee Barn. Everyone says ‘You have a beautiful house.' My neighbors tell me that my house is a pleasure to look at. My house looks like it has been here all along."

Anneke used The Gillie
Yankee Barn plans as a
starting point in the design
of her home. She kept the
saltbox shape on the
exterior and modified the
interior layout to suit her needs.

For inspiration, many homeowners browse through the renderings and floor plans of actual Yankee Barns included in the Yankee Barn Design Guide. Anneke was immediately drawn to Bob Gillie's Yankee Barn. She admired the colonial saltbox shape, the exterior details, as well as the floor plan's open living area and traditional layout. Anneke wanted a large open room for her kitchen and dining area. She enjoys the full height of the granary for wonderful light in her kitchen, but didn't want a cathedral ceiling in her living room. She preferred to have the entire second floor for bedrooms.

The Gillie Yankee Barn had three bedrooms upstairs. Anneke wanted two larger bedrooms, one for herself with a master bath and a walk-in closet, and one for guests with a bath. With the stairway in the center, she has her privacy when guests visit. Roy also suggested Anneke plan far into the future. In the event she needs all her living space on one floor; the library could become her bedroom. The first floor bathroom was also designed for wheelchair accessibility.

On the third floor, Anneke has a full attic, running the whole length of the house. Instead of one room as in the Gillie plan, Anneke has two small rooms; one serves as an office and the other is an area for sewing and ironing.

To access over 200 floor plans on the Yankee Barn Web site, join the neighborhood. Anyone who purchases the Yankee Barn Homes Design Guide or our book, Barn Style Homes: Design Ideas for Timber Frame Houses, will be automatically registered. If you would like access and have already purchased the guide or book, or are currently a Yankee Barn homeowner, please email us at info@yankeebarnhomes.com.

One visitor to Yankee Barn's Web site said, "You are practically building your own house." That's the idea! The "Lay Out Your Floor Plan" Web site feature is a great place to get started with the design process. While you select design features including square footage, number of bedrooms, and location of the Great Room and master bedroom, you will also learn about architectural considerations and Yankee Barn options. Your preferences are stored on a summary page which you can email to Yankee Barn for more information and examples of floor plans.

Anneke's Yankee Barn sits high on a plateau. On her first night in her new home, she was treated to a lightning display and thunderstorm.

"I felt I was with the elements and totally safe. This house is so sturdy," said Anneke. "I love the outdoors, but after years with the wind blowing through the old house, this is wonderful. No wind, just a solid feeling."

The key to the energy efficiency of a Yankee Barn is the panel construction combined with the sealed "tongue and groove" connection between the panels that stops air infiltration.

Insulation: Yankee Barn's rigid insulation outperforms typical fiberglass insulation. The 2x6 walls have an R-25 compared to the typical builder wall of R-19 with fiberglass insulation. Yankee Barn's standard roof panels have an R-35 compared to a builder 2x10 roof at R-30. Yankee Barn also offers roof panels with R-44 as an option.

Windows: Yankee Barn provides Andersen windows and doors with high performance glass. This is better than standard dual pane insulating glass.

With correct installation of building components, many Yankee Barns easily qualify for the EPA Energy Star approval. A Yankee Barn designed for Pennsylvania should achieve EPA Energy Star's 90.3 points versus the minimum Energy Code of 80 points, or the EPA requirement of 86 points. The 90.3 rating for the Yankee Barn is considered to be 50% better than code. This home has the standard wall and roof insulation with Andersen high performance glass. This high rating was in spite of the fact that the home had 300 square feet of west facing glass. South facing glass would offer better solar winter heat gain, but missed the view.

For more information on energy efficiency and Energy Star ratings, call Yankee Barn at 1-800-258-9786.

Photographs: Suki Coughlin, Stylist: Paula McFarland
©2004 Yankee Barn Homes, Tony Hanslin, Chairman and CEO