Welcome to The Barn

Yes, It was absoluteley worth three years of building and a pandemic. It is with great joy that I introduce you to “The Barn” here at Hindsight Homestead. Beautifully located on Muddy Creek and Boone Lake. This majestic structure is like no other barn on earth.

Some folks thought it was going to be a barndominium while it was being built. It’s gorgeous enough to live in with the stone exterior walls and white washed board and batten siding, but it’s not our house. It’s a little dream I’ve had for years that grew into a big reality.

It’s like a one stop shop of a farm hub. If you’ve ever built something from the ground up you know all the pain, hangups, decisions, and time that’s involved. But that’s not what I’m gonna talk about. I’m going to tell you about the awesomeness this Lady has to offer.

Let me start by saying this barn isn’t home to any animals. Even if we leave doors open every so often our farm dog lays down at the threshold because she knows she’s not even allowed inside. It’s that special.

The first thing you’ll see when you drive up to the farm is the barn’s classic southern style front porch. It’s a 12 x 64 ft covered porch complete with ceiling fans for those warm summer days. I like to watch and listen to the creek from the front porch. Lately I’ve stopped to appreciate the ducks that have made the creek home for the autumn season.

On the opposite side of the barn is the most beautiful greenhouse any gardener could ask for. It’s 16 x 64 ft and south facing in direction. It’s exterior door is on the side closest to the garden for convenience. In the center of the concrete floor is a trough drain that runs the whole length of the greenhouse. I wanted to make it beautiful and practical too. So the stone that is on the outside of the barn wraps around and into the greenhouse, making up the bottom four feet of the walls. Not only does the stone look stunning in the greenhouse it also absorbs heat from the sun during the day and releases the heat at night, exceptionally helpful during the colder months. There are two spigots as well of cold AND hot water…no more frozen hands or seedlings. Also centered on the long wall is a set of double doors going into the main part of the barn from the greenhouse.

The main entrance into the barn is the 10 ft tall double doors on the garden side. When you come into the barn you’ll notice it’s very open, very bright, very white washed, and very shiplapped(walls and ceilings). You see from one side to the other. No walls in the way, just pillars. It’s 32 x 64 ft. As you come in you step immediately in the gathering room. This half is the side for all of our workshops, classes, and events. On the right side are three antique cabinets that hold our homesteading and homemaking books along with the tea cups and tea pots that are put away when not in use. Between those antique cabinets are windows looking into the greenhouse.

On the other half of the main floor you’ll find a full stainless steel kitchen on the right hand side. It consists of a commercial three tub sink, stainless steel prep tables, two commercial propane stove and oven units, a refrigerator, and last but not least a washer and dryer. The doors that exit on this side are the same and are directly across from the doors you entered. Just like the greenhouse, the concrete floor has a trough drain going down the full length of the floor. On the left side there is a double closet that is set under the staircase. Before I take you upstairs let me tell you about one more section of the main floor.

So on the left side of the building when you came in, directly across from the greenhouse doors are the French doors that open into our employee lounge. It’s quite cozy and in there with a table and chairs, it’s own antique corner cabinet housing antique books, and of course I can’t forget about the coffee pot that keeps us going every day. This lounge is centered between two cooler rooms. Yes you read that right, two refrigerated rooms. Each cooler room is 16 x~20 ft. These cooler rooms have done really well even during the hottest of summer days. They have already kept thousands of berry plants dormant, giving us the much needed time to plant them this past spring.

Now let’s go back into the main floor area and go upstairs. This space like downstairs is very open, very white washed, very bright, and very shiplapped:) It measures the same as the main floor, 32 x 64 ft. However, in the middle of the upstairs floor is a square opening with a banister that allows full view from the main floor to the ceiling upstairs. I’ve measured from the main floor to the top of the hand rail on the banister and it measures 14 ft….Christmas Tree Farm here we come:) We use two corners on the garden side for our offices. We get a great inspirational view of the lake, garden, creek, and fields with all the multiple windows. Besides the office spaces, the rest of the upstairs is for the fiber studio. I have all the fiber supplies and equipment stored and staged upstairs. All the spinning wheels, drop spindles, raw wool rovings, etc. I love working with natural wool for fiber arts. It has an old world feel that makes my mind and heart think for a moment that I've stepped back in time.

As you can tell this is no ordinary barn.

It’s a statement.

A statement that homesteading can be functional AND beautiful.

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