I wrote a few weeks ago about selling my beloved barndominium. Quite often, my Facebook memories will pop up posts about the construction of this one-of-a-kind facility. My life was so upside down at that point, and this home was a refuge for me and my animals. I lived in my living quarters horse trailer while my home was being built. It was a wet spring, and there were times when I wondered if I would ever have a home!
It went on the market this past week. The marketing tools available these days are incredible! There are 3D views and floorplans and aerial views. You can feel like you are walking through the home from a continent away! Amazing!
A home for a country girl
My friend Bill is a general contractor who had worked on several of my past homes. When he saw the “barndo”, he said, “This home is the best representation of you of any of your previous residences that I have seen.” Because I had built homes with my ex-husband, I had first-hand knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. Over the years, I have set up at least a half-dozen horse facilities. Each time, I learn something.
When I built this place, I put the emphasis on ease-of-use, practicality, and minimal maintenance for the house. I wanted to have time to enjoy my animals, not spend innumerable hours maintaining the place. Horses and acreage are enough to maintain, who wants to paint siding?
Perhaps I sound like a broken record, but man, was it hard to leave it. We are very happy in Colorado. It is beautiful there. Recently, we rode 9 miles directly from home, ending up in National Forest. It is hot and humid in Kansas and absolutely gorgeous in our new location! However, the weather is quite fickle! A sudden burst of wind can wreak havoc on our temporary electric fence. We only put the horses out there when we are home. Otherwise, they are in their nicely fenced lot. Although we planned to build a barn and fence more of the property, we have reconsidered. The expense of building on the mountain is a major deterrent.
We absolutely love our place in Colorado, but there are certain things we miss. The dogs can no longer go outside to do their business whenever they please. The barndo has a 40 by 50 garage! All the trailers and vehicles were stored inside. In Colorado, we’re trying to figure out where the ATV will live! We walk down the driveway to attend to the horses. Everything is a trade-off, right? We LOVED living in the barndo, but now it is in the wrong location. We really, really hope to rebuild it someday.
Would you like to live here?
Thanks to modern technology, you can see for yourself what I built. We are grateful for all of these photos and 3D images, as it will make it much easier to explain to some future builder what we want to do!
Here are some of the features I am most proud about including:
- Efficient indoor/outdoor facilities for horses, with a tack room, automatic waterer, large dry lot, and large fenced pasture with attractive, safe fencing.
- Efficient floor plan with radiant heat flooring, furnace, and wood-burning stove.
- Dog room with indoor/outdoor dog run, dog shower, automatic waterer for the dogs, medication cabinet, dog food cabinet.
- Beautiful horse-themed light fixtures, toilet and shower fixtures made from bits, stirrups, and horseshoes (handcrafted)
- Granite countertop with beautiful matching tile backsplash
- “Chic rustic” cabinetry.
- A large, concrete pantry that doubles as a storm shelter
- A large, user-friendly laundry room suitable for folks who live an active, outdoor lifestyle and who get dirty!
- Huge garage for storage of trailers, vehicles, and toys!
- Expansive front porch with tons of electrical outlets for setting up food stations or decorative lights for outdoor entertaining.
- Front and back driveways designed to easily accommodate large horse trailers, including space next to the barn to park a large trailer.
- A septic clean-out in the large garage positioned to allow the LQ trailer to be hooked up for occupancy while parked in the garage.
- A camera system, providing security as well as round-the-clock observation of the animal residents.
- HUGE walk-in closets and an equally spacious walk-in pantry.
There are so many more things about this place that we love. I really, really hope that whoever buys it loves it as much as Alan and I do. You can see for yourself… The 3D walkthrough is available here. I had never seen a virtual tour as cool as this. Click on the little circles that say “360” and they will take you to other areas of the property.
The listing website has tons more photos and information. Please help me find someone to love my beautiful barndo!
You must log in to post a comment.