Saturday was a beautiful day. Sun shining & not much wind. We had a few small things to do and wanted to relax a little. Steve had a stressful, busy week. We put up a temporary door between the new living area & the workshop so the heat wouldn't escape. I had been using a sheet of styrofoam all week that kept falling over. The weekend before, we put up a temporary door to the basement for the same reason. Now we are all closed in and the radiant floor heat in the new living area won't kick on as often. We turn it down as low as the thermostat goes (which is 40 degrees) when we leave. We don't want the plumbing to freeze while we are gone.
We also talked more about what wood to use on the walls. We know we want knotty pine, but are kicking around options on where to get it. Eli mentioned an Amish sawmill in Cashton, so we will check that out. We aren't sure if the wood is dried though. This coming Saturday, there is a tour of a couple sawmills in the area that we are planning on going to. We will have to check out their available lumber too. Then there is always our regular suppliers here in Illinois. I would like to stay local to the farm area though. We just have to narrow down the choices to one & order it.
We decided to use up the rest of the straw & cover the strawberries. They are all tucked in now. I picked some lettuce that had re-seeded itself too. Nice to have fresh lettuce from the garden on October 30th.
We are also trying to decide what kind & size of window will go above the picture window on the west side. We thought we had it figured out, and we do already have a window that we bought on Craigslist a couple years ago. But our minds have changed since then. (Oh boy. More chicken coop windows :-) This
window(s) will be in the new guest area in the attic. Since it is up so high, I would like to be able to clean it from the inside. We also want to be able to see the view while sitting up there. This is what it looks like now...
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| The only old windows left are in the "soon-to-be guest area" in the attic. |
I did some cut & pasting of a pic so we could play with options...
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| Now we have a blank slate...what do you think? What should we use? |
12 comments:
I'm thinking some kind of circular window or arched window?
Great that you had your hubby home for the weekend -- I know the feeling. I'm sure he was happy to see the wood stove installed and working. What a nice thing to come home to.
I would think a half moon window, rounded on top and flat on the bottom. Like a capital D but laid on it's back. lol [not describing that well, what do I know from windows!] The fireplace sounds heavenly and so does lettuce in Oct!
A single large window, something longer than tall with an arch. Perhaps smaller than the large bottom window, but large enough where you could open the 2 little side windows for ventilation and a nice clear view in the middle and another seperate oval on top. It would not open, just bring in lots of light. OR...2 larger windows where the old ones were, with the width coming towards the center...debbie
Hi Barb,
Maybe it's just me... but personally, I say 'no' to an oval or arch; I am unsure it will work/look right on a barn. I have a book at home on renovating farmhouses (of which several barns were turned into homes - and/or the barns were also historically renovated) - I will flip through it tonight and see if there is anything similar to your building.
What a great week you've had up there!
My first thought was a big triangular window sort of following the shape of the roof. It has become rather popular over here now days.
The whole ceiling on my upper floor is pine with no color on it. I know most people likes to paint it white, but I sort of gets a comforting feeling of looking at the trees real color.
Have a great day!
Christer.
Thanks everyone for the ideas.
Let me know what you think after you look in your books Angie.
Christer...I like that look for pine walls too. We will just let them "age" naturally.
Following from afar, there is still excitement, and anticipation for all you have done, and plan to do, at The Big Red Barn.
A wide open space to me, is compelling.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Barb,
This is I think what Christer was saying too (it's probably expensive, because picking the most expensive option seems to be my specialty!) - windows that follow the architecture of the building.
http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/06/old-dairy-barn-converted-into-an-eco-home-filled-with-rustic-charm/dairyfarm-ed02/
Here's my two cents. I say put up 3 windows side by side. Then you can clean them but still have the effect of a picture window.
Hi Angie,
Thanks for the link. I also thought that would look great but it would probably be too expensive.
Pat...I have been going in that direction or casement windows would provide a clearer view.
Not sure on the shape of the windows, but I would definitely say to get the ones that kind of pop out for cleaning or opening (I think they're called single or double hung windows). Jami's grandma recently installed some in her house and she (and me!) absolutely loves them! Maybe even slide or french door style.
Cuddling around the fire sounds so nice! One day I'd like to install a wood stove in my home, too!
Thanks Jenna...I do want windows we can clean from the inside. I don't want to have to climb a ladder that high :-)
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