The Living/Dining Room

This is the living room and the dining room space.

It's a large room with a high ceiling.

Some of the photos show the room from above 

since the hayloft looks down over the room. 

The hayloft used to stretch all the way to the end of the building,  but when they converted the barn, they cut the loft back so the living room would have a cathedral ceiling.

There is Hallie again....what a ham.

Decorating a room like this is challenging! 

It has been difficult to find the right amount

of furniture and how to configure the groupings.

The Duncan Phyfe sofa is an inherited piece. It was

my husband's great grandmother's and it's very old. I love the architectural lines of it and wouldn't trade it for anything. 

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but we like it anyway. 

The two chairs on either side of this sideboard were French chairs I found at a consignment shop and had recovered. I searched for months and couldn't find a leopard print that I liked. So.... I went on Ebay and bought a real vintage leopard fur coat and my upholsterer used it to cover the tops of the chairs. 

Close up of Geoffrey's Leopard fur.

Lots of natural light!

 

Photo taken on a gray February day with lots of snow outside.

Looking down from the loft.

 

Looking toward the living room where the stalls used to be.

 Do you live in a barn?

How did you decorate it? 

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for stopping by today.

The Hallway

 

This the hallway off the front foyer that goes to the stairs.

When we bought the place, these walls were faux sponge-painted in a yellow. I added the RL houndstooth wallpaper almost immediately. So much better and more in keeping with the style of the house.

One day the big brown truck brought this bench to our house. Some nice man on Ebay sold it to me, God bless him.

Love finding all the details.... that's what makes a house a home to me.

The floors were added by the family that converted 

the house in the 1970's. I am not sure what they were before that. This opening to the staircase was also added to allow 

access to the staircase that went upstairs. I know, quirky.

There's Hallie again. Standing below the staircase. My faithful golden shadow. :)

My dear Mother found this painted panel the week I moved in and had it shipped to me.

 

An inherited marble top Lincoln chest with hidden side panel lock from my hubbie's grandmother.

 

Maxie oversees the amatuer photo shoot.

The Tack Room

This is my favorite room in the house, small and cozy. The walls

and ceiling are covered with the original aromatic cedar paneling.

There is a large hide-covered trunk under the table from the early 1800's. There are three in the room. Each is so unique and truly a work of art. The handles on the sides are crudely made from wrought iron, and each has nail head tacks.... another thing I love!

I had my husband's initials put on the back of this red ultrasuede chair before it was reupholstered.

This is a pair of snowshoes for horses that I found in Minnesota this fall. The dealer said they came from Finland originally. Have you ever seen anything like them?

I went on a Mod Podge binge for a while in October and decided to put red plaid paper on this frame. 

Bought this neat horse tack table from my sweet friend Sharon, also an antique dealer,  as she was unloading
it from her car. She thought I was crazy the way I reacted when I saw it, but when you see
something perfect -- you just have to have it, right?

Little trinket collection.

Vintage plaid blankets were used to upholster the two chairs and I found Canadian tartan wool for the sofa. The walls used to have saddle brackets and many hooks for storing the riding accessories. Though the saddle racks are long gone, the hooks are still up high near the ceiling and are in pretty good shape.

 

Mallets hanging from one of the original tack brackets.

Hallie, my assistant this morning busy chasing camera flashes. :)

Since I grew up on a horse farm, many antiques and horse prints came from my mother and her parents. My grandfather raised harness horses and thoroughbreds, not polo ponies. I started collecting polo memorabilia after we moved in. Polo was very popular here in our small town from the 1930's through the 1960's.

Under the window there is an old wooden saddle rack/stand that I found at a garage sale the week me moved in!

 

The trophy case in the hall.

 

The trophy case is outside the tack room in the hall and it's filled with items collected from Ebay and antique shops. Some of the framed photos are historical and relate to the history of the barn, and a few photos were passed on to me when we bought the place.

 The property was originally called Evergrove Farm and they built the polo barn and stable here in 1939.

The white horse was the original owner's favorite pony and it is standing right outside the front door. C. 1940

This is an  antique porcupine quill covered box... wish I had more!

Another one of those old hide-covered boxes.

Close up of  the trophy case. The runners at the bottom are for the sliding 

glass doors which had to be opened to take photos!

Thanks for visiting. I am working my way down the hall. 

Come back soon as I will be adding more. 

Have a lovely day!