“A vacation without ever leaving home,” was the MO for these executive homeowners who spend a great deal of time on the road.  The solution: an onsite timber frame sports barn replete with a full kitchen, a lounge, and generous covered wrap-around porches. The centerpiece of this barndominium, is a regulation basketball court designed for their basketball-loving family to be the stars of their own team. The finishing touch is a towering turret that pays homage to the soybean silos of the barn’s Midwest locale.

“From the pictures we saw on the website…the first phone call…how quick it became a reality…how awesome it looks, it has just been a great experience all together working with New Energy Works,” says the homeowner. “I tell people when they come over that it turned out better than I even thought it would, better than we could ever have imagined.” 

The home is located typical midwestern subdivision, but the homeowners own a 250-acre parcel at the end of the road. “Frankly we just wanted somewhere to spend afternoons and weekends. In particular, during the wintertime. It’s kind of dreary outside in these parts, so we felt like we needed something indoors,” the homeowner continued.

“It started as, ‘Where can we find a place to keep a couple tractors and some convertibles that I don’t drive all of the time…’ Then it became ‘Well, what if we put a basketball court in there for indoor fun…’  Then we thought, ‘Well, we also need a place to entertain…’ and it evolved from that.”

Image

“I love structure that is gorgeous, and the timber work on this project is form and function at its best,” says Kevin Beland of Wood and Clay Fine Homes.

There are three buildings located on the expansive New Hampshire compound where two new timber frame structures will be raised. The property includes the client’s main home, a new garage, and a new timber frame party barn. While the client’s main living quarters is getting an update from Wood and Clay, the two new structures are being raised to complete a master plan that mimics the existing aesthetic detailing found around the property.

“The idea is that all of the structures are going to speak to each other. We try to have things have logic to them,” says Beland. “The garage sits between the main house and the party barn. The garage and barn are brand-new buildings and we’re giving the main house a facelift to bring it together with the other structures. 

Shannon Robinson-Beland, co-owner of Wood and Clay, adds, “The party barn is going to be a family space for entertaining. There will be a ping-pong table, a lounge area, and a bar. Just like the name says, it’s a party barn! Adjacent to that structure there is a garage where there will be a few of the client’s favorite cars on display and an additional gym space. The garage space is more functional but still has a high level of finish both in terms of the timbers, the butternut siding on the walls and stained wood details on the ceiling.”

In this episode of Bridging the Gap, our founder and CEO Jonathan Orpin joins host Todd Weyandt to discuss blending old-world craftsmanship and forward-thinking sustainability.