Winslow Farmhouse is underway and we at YBH could not be more excited to follow this build. Not only will this farmhouse have an attached carriage house and a separate polarity therapy studio, the entire homestead will be off the grid.
The owners are an amazing couple with three children and a dog named Mariposa (Posy to her friends). They have been extremely hands on in everything to do with their new home. Situated on beautiful New England land (complete with their own pond), the setting could not be more perfect for a Yankee Barn house and carriage house. Their story is refreshingly honest and inspiring. With the mom’s permission, I’d like you to learn about this family and their build through her own words. All accompanying photographs were also taken by her.
Winslow Farmhouse: In Their Own Words
“While building a house during a pandemic has not been easy, we have been continuously grateful to have it as a focus to guide us through these challenging times. We are so grateful to you all at Yankee Barn Homes for the ease you have given us in working with you. That part has been nothing but a pleasure! Thank you!”
“Before we found our land, Jonathan and I had made a list of everything we wanted in our new home. We have three children between us–he has his daughter who is the youngest of the three and I have the two older girls—so we knew we needed a home big enough for all of us. We also wanted nature around us with walking trails, an old stone wall and ideally a water source, a pond or ocean view. We hoped for walking distance to the amazing little town of Rockport where Jonathan has his art studio and walking distance to the ocean and the kids’ school. Rockport doesn’t have a grocery store but it does have a few little markets and I wished to be near one of them for convenience as Jonathan and I both get very busy with work. We knew this was a tall order and we weren’t sure it even existed in Rockport. Living off the grid wasn’t on the list but it was always a dream for each of us. We couldn’t believe when we found the land that had EVERYTHING on our list–and then we found YBH—and our dreams continued to come true.”
“Another extra treasure of our new home is that we have the honor of living down the road from an incredible dahlia farm.”
“While we have hit many bumps in the road that have slowed down the process of getting the land ready for our new home, we have still taken every opportunity to get to know the land and the many amazing spots in nature around it. We hiked and camped in the woods and kayaked on the pond in the summer. We built the solar shed and, during the construction, the kids hung their aerial silks there. We all spent every evening well past dark out there while they climbed and danced. We got a sweet little tractor, Clementine, that has proven to be quite mighty as Jonathan has moved rock, snow, dirt, and thousands of pounds of wood around with it. The girls all learned how to drive Clementine, too.”
“This winter we have sled down the huge mounds of dirt that still stand because we’re waiting for the excavation company to finish their part of the job. The sledding has been a blast! And the pond has frozen a couple of times already so we’ve gotten to ice skate, which is especially a dream come true for the youngest, Eliza, because she is a figure skater.”
“While everyone juggles so much while building a house, I’m sure, we had one very special juggling opportunity show up. During a big push time in the land prep Jonathan and his mother were called to see if Yo-Yo Ma could play at the Cancer Garden of Hope in Boston’s City Hall Plaza for President Biden’s inauguration–a garden that Jonathan and his family founded to honor the cancer journey, a journey that sadly took his father from them 17 years ago. Any other year this would have been an easy thing to make happen but this year City Hall Plaza is under construction so the garden is an island. You can read more about this incredible feat at www.conquercancer.org and view Yo-Yo Ma’s incredible performance. Jonathan moved mountains to make it happen and some of the ramp and stage he and our building crew built for Yo-Yo Ma have been recycled into our project.”
“Speaking of recycled, Jonathan also found a recycled flooring company in Boston that made the floors for our home from the beams from an old ship yard that he and his father used to drive by regularly when he was young.
The last bit of interest I can think of is that we closed on the land in 2019 and in early 2020 Jonathan created the most beautiful proposal for me there and we got engaged by the pond. I included a couple of pictures from that day.”
“Once we’ve settled into our new home, our next project is going to be building an agricultural retreat center that will also be off the grid so that other people can come and be as nourished by the land as we have been.”
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Don’t say I didn’t tell you this family is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We are proud to have been chosen as the company to build their very special farmhouse, carriage house and studio. We are beyond excited to see this build progress, but even more excited to play a part in their wonderful story.
To see more information and download floor plans, please visit: Winslow Farmhouse, Carriage House, and Studio
