August, 1912 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
271 
This shows how good taste and ingenuity, applied to problems of remodeling, can turn an ugly old structure into a thoroughly attractive dwelling 
A Barn That Became a House 
By Beatrice C. Wilcox 
Photographs by Alice Boughton 
ANY of the large, well-built barns of a past 
generation have been transformed into Sum- 
mer dwellings, by people who love the space 
and freedom of a large, central living-room 
and the simplified housekeeping which is 
a great deal easier in the old barn dimen- 
sions than in the conventional house. 
On one of the pleasantest of the 
Long Island country roads, there is 
to be seen one of these made-over 
barns, which now presents the ap- 
pearance of a quaint, gray-shingled 
house with a green roof, and a large 
brick chimney in the middle. There 
are many diamond-paned windows 
set along the sides, and a little porch 
at the side door with a balcony 
above it. 
The great living-room is about 
twenty-five by thirty-five feet in size, 
and in the central space rises to the 
full height of the barn. The two 
haylofts project over either end of 
this room and form a second story 
in which are four bedrooms. The 
The house was originally an old Long ind barn 
huge brick chimney is between this large room and the 
former stable, which has now become the dining-room and 
kitchen combined. ‘The open fire places add not a little to 
the homelike aspect of the place. 
Above the kitchen and dining-room there is a fifth bed- 
room and a modern bathroom with hot water attachments 
from the range in the kitchen. The 
plumbing and heating arrangements 
are so good that the barn may be 
used for week-end parties in the 
Winter, and the remodeling has 
been done in such a way that a part 
of the space can be shut off and made 
snug for Winter quarters. 
The family of five, who formerly 
lived in the old house on the place, 
have lived for several years in their 
barn and have found it very easy to 
do their own work, with the help of 
one man, who comes by the day. 
This solved the problem of servants, 
which is always a difficult one in the 
Country. The three daughters were 
artistic and practical at the same 
time, and when they began to plan 
= 5 este 
