Nestled in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes region, Purple Haze Lavender Farm is a fragrant escape straight out of a pastoral postcard. Just minutes from the shores of Conesus Lake, the family-owned farm offers handcrafted lavender products, seasonal events, and a taste of rural hospitality.
Owner Noell Van Deursen’s journey to the farm began unexpectedly. “We bought a house about eight years ago. A few months later, it burned down,” she recalls. She explained that her and her husband first connected with New Energy Works when they rebuilt, incorporating rugged timber beams. “While we were in the process of building the house, the 12-acre farm across the street went on the market, and we just scooped it up because we were worried about someone building a big, I don't know, campsite or whatever, right across the street from us.”
The property included a farmhouse, two aging barns, and a horse stable. One look at the first barn sealed her vision. “I really, really wanted to turn the barn into something cool.”
From the start, preserving the barn’s story was non-negotiable. Inspired by her parents’ restoration of a 13th-century castle, Van Deursen initially hoped to build around the original structure. But the cost and limitations proved impractical. She says, “It's not easy to build around an old structure, it's going to be very costly, and you are very limited in what you can do. So eventually we said, ‘Okay, let's just take this thing down but save as many of the beams as possible and then put them back in in a different form’. Literally the only company in my mind that could do that is New Energy Works.” They carefully dismantled the barn, salvaging as many beams and boards as possible to reincorporate into a new design.
“My husband and I removed every nail and cleaned every board,” she says. The reclaimed barn wood siding now forms a dramatic interior accent wall, while the original beams were sent to New Energy Works for restoration and redesign. New Energy Works provided several drawings and multiple layout options based on the salvaged timbers.
Some of the beams had been painted white decades earlier, and Van Deursen hoped their rustic character could be restored. “When everything came back, I was more than pleased. I didn’t expect it to look that good,” she says. “You can still see hints of paint in places, and it’s kind of cool. It tells the story.”
The re-imagined barn, painted in purple, now anchors the 12-acre property, home to 450 lavender plants, small-batch lavender products, and a year-round bed-and-breakfast that welcomes guests and their pups to experience the beauty of the Finger Lakes. The second barn on the property has also been refreshed and will be painted the same signature color purple.
The new structure balanced both function and charm. Downstairs houses a tractor, a workshop, and a wide porch where visitors can relax with a cool glass of lemonade. Upstairs, a loft-style gathering space replete with man-cave and a bar, showcases the rescued timbers in their new configuration.
A tale of old wood with a new purpose and at the Purple Haze Lavender Farm, the past is respected and the future smells great. Van Deursen recalls her experience fondly, “The New Energy Works guys were really good. Just great to work with.”
