Dan's Papers - August 15, 2008 - So You Want to Live in a Barn

If you're looking to live somewhere other than a typical Hamptons cottage, you might want to consider converting the vintage barn on your property into a new home.

While the quaint, rustic look of the barn can be retained and fits in well with the bucolic landscapes of the East End, high, peaked roofs and vast open spaces inside allow for the perfect setting to create an urban style loft. "One of the things that's nice about the Hamptons is because of the beautiful remaining agricultural land, the barns can look really nice on an old potato field," said Ken Epworth, of Vermont-based The Barn People, who has worked on about a dozen barn-converted homes on the East End over the last 33 years.

Because the barns are only one room, it's difficult to be very creative or original with the layout of your home. However, the open space, combined with the sheer size of the room makes for a great urban loft setting. Typically, there will be one main, open living area with the bedrooms built on the loft above and the kitchen underneath. Or, you can flip it around and put the bedrooms on the ground floor and the kitchen and a living room on the loft. "A lot of people who come out here from Manhattan who live in Soho want a high ceiling and the openness of a big area, similar to what they have in the city," said Janette Goodstein of Prudential Douglas Elliman.

"It really creates a great room," Epworth added.

Epworth doesn't just specialize in converting barns into homes, he also has an inventory of old barns, which he gets from all over the country, for you to choose from if your property doesn't come with its own. Whether it's a barn of your own or something from his stock, Epworth dismantles the barns and brings them back to his Vermont workspace, where he and his crew fix up the pieces and treat the wood for rot and insects.

Because these structures are so old, it takes a lot of work to restore them because they've been worn by weather. "You might think a barn looks great from the road, then you get up close to it and see how worn down it is," Epworth said. "You learn that not all barns are worth saving."

While Epworth and his crew work on restoring and cleaning the pieces of the barn, the foundation for it is going down on your property. When that's completed, he then brings the barn to you in pieces and puts together the frame.

The prices for these restored barns vary with each location, since it's based on the cost of labor and construction material in that area. While the construction of the barn will cost roughly the same as construction of a new home, there is the additional cost of the frame. Epworth's barns start at $50 per square foot, averaging at $70 per square foot. This means a 30' by 40' English Hay barn, fully restored and hand-washed, will cost $84,000 just for the frame.

Of course, you could also purchase a barn that has already been converted into a home that's on the market. There aren't many of them though, said Paul Brennan, of Prudential, because the trend for these homes came and went 15 years ago. "They used to be trendy, but not so much anymore," he said. "But they do have an appeal. I'd like to see the trend come back again." Typically, he said, artists, writers and other creative types are attracted to these rustic homes.

One such home currently on the market is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a pool and two fireplaces located on a private road close to East Hampton village. The owner is currently asking for $1.695 million for it, due to the fact that it is in need of some renovation. But a home like this could cost as much as $4 million, Goodstein said.

"My hope is that whoever buys this will take it and treat it well and keep the integrity and uniqueness of the house," said Patti Wadzinski, of Corcoran Group, who is also working with this listing. "It's a unique property."

There's also a barn-style cottage located in Wainscott, with three bedrooms and two baths, that's on the market for $2.995 million. And on the North Fork, there's a barn-style home using old, reclaimed barn siding for sale in Peconic.

The property at Star Top Estates in Montauk, which features a series of barns, is also up for grabs if you wanted to start from scratch and have your own barn turned into a new home for you to enjoy.

So, if modern homes aren't for you, and you want to preserve a little piece of East End history, then converting an old barn into a new home might be a good idea.