Saturday, March 22, 2014

The Old Gray Barn Is Getting a Facelift

One of the joys (and responsibilities) of Darlington is that it has a number of buildings on the property.  Four, to be specific. In addition to the brick and clapboard main house there are two wooden barns—one originally designed to hold a carriage, and the other for farm equipment and livestock.  There is also a brick workhouse built for doing laundry and cooking in warmer weather.  All the structures on the property date from the first decades of the nineteenth century and are original.

The old gray barn last July, pre-restoration, festooned with
forty-eight star flags in honor of Independence Day

Since buying Darlington more than fifteen years ago we have done a lot of work to the buildings and grounds.  Not only did we want to, Dear Reader, as we believe it is our responsibility to sensitively care for such treasures, but their deteriorating condition required it.  As I wrote in my introductory post on Darlington, the condition of the house and property was one of benign neglect when we bought it.  The previous owner, Mrs. Proctor, was in her late nineties at the time and had been living in what is euphemistically referred to as "a home" for several years.  Darlington had sat empty for five (or more) years, used only occasionally by relatives when visiting the area.

The barn one month later.  Work has begun.
Note absence of chimney on right hand side of the roof . . .

During their ownership of Darlington, the Proctors, people of means who appreciated the historic significance of the house and property, took good care of it.  However, by the time we bought it from them little had been done to the house or grounds since the 1970s, other than putting up an occasional coat of paint and regularly mowing the lawns.  Darlington had become a sleeping, overgrown beauty, drifting into decay . . .

The barn's west elevation.  The three windows' sashes have been
removed for restoration and reglazing.  The ghost of the roof of a
lean-to that once adjoined this facade can be seen sloping down from
the right.  We are going to open the boarded-up window on the
first floor and replace the sliding door to its right with a matching
window that will restore the facade's original two-over-two
symmetrical window placement

Our first priority was to focus on the main house, which required major and extensive restoration, and also a complete updating of all of its systems.  As the urgency of those repairs subsided, we turned our sights to the other buildings on the property.  Our next project was a ground-up restoration of the carriage barn, which we have repurposed as a gardening barn, filling it with tools and rakes and enough Guy Wolff clay pots to keep a nursery happy for years.  We have also done a substantial amount of restoration to Darlington's work house and hope to have it completed later this year when the fellow who has done the work on it so far frees up from other commitments.

Our restored carriage barn.  We plan on using the same
green paint color on the windows and doors of the large barn

More recently we have turned our attention to what we call the "large barn" at Darlington.  It was built in around 1840 as a working barn and originally held the property's farm machinery and equipment, along with the livestock that was used in managing the 165 acres that Darlington once encompassed.  Today it is where we keep our cars, large clay pots in the winter, stacks of firewood, and our refuse and recycling containers.  In other words, it functions as a large modern-day garage.

The south facade of the barn.  We are removing the unfortunate 1960s
garage door and the inappropriate horizontal window, along with the small
sliding door on the right.  The rusty tin roof, which dates from the
late-nineteenth century, is in good shape, and will be scraped and painted

When we bought Darlington the large barn was packed to the rafters with seventy years' of the Procters' accumulated stuff (they were great pack rats) and infested with insect damage.  A lean-to addition had been cobbled onto it in the 1940s, and the building's Greek Revival integrity had been further undignified by the addition of inappropriate windows and an ugly 1960s-era garage door.  Although we quickly eliminated the lean-to, it took us until last year finally to bite the bullet and begin working on the barn in earnest.  (When I write "we" here I must clarify that it is not Boy and I who are the ones actually doing the work to the barn.  No, we are fortunate to have others who are skillfully doing it on our behalf under the careful supervision of Isaiah Cornini, the consultant we have been working with ever since we bought Darlington.  Mr. Cornini advises us and designs and manages all of the restoration projects we do on the property.)

Another view of the barn, showing both the south and east
elevations.  We are going to paint the siding and cornice
in a period-appropriate mustard/ochre color; sashes and
doors will be painted the green used on the carriage barn

So why did we wait so long to tackle the large barn's restoration, you might ask, Dear Reader?  There were several reasons.  First, the financial crash of 2008 happened, which put the brakes on my interest in taking on such a large project, and second, it took us for ever to decide that we didn't need to do as thorough (and expensive) a restoration to the barn as we have done to the other buildings on the property.  Rather, we decided that it was sufficient (and less financially punishing) to do a careful and thoughtful shoring up of the structure, replace its later, less-than-successful remuddlings, and update the building's systems for modern-day requirements.  When we are finished we will have returned the barn to a close approximation of what it looked like when it was originally built almost 180 years ago.

Another view of the barn's east facade.  We have
already removed an unsightly cinder-block chimney that
was added in the 1940s.  The boarded-up windows on the
second storey are false ones, added for symmetry
when the barn was built.  We will replace the later
horizontal windows with sash windows, restoring the
facade's original two-over-two window symmetry,
similar to the building's west facade

Over the next several months I plan on posting about the barn's ongoing restoration and updating.  I am confident that when the work is completed the barn will, once again, be the handsome and dignified structure it once was and was always meant to be.

A later view of the barn's east facade showing the restoration of the
cornice underway where the cinder-block chimney once interrupted it

Won't you please join me in my journey?

All photographs by Reggie Darling

36 comments:

  1. I can't wait! What a lovely barn. As you most likely know, barn conversion are extremely popular here and I think much more so than in the US. Perhaps because there is more real estate stock there so people aren't trying to squeeze any bit of an edifice into housing. It already looks beautiful and am sure that with everyone's input involved it will be another result fit for a magazine!

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    1. Hello CSW: We thought for some time that we would convert much of the barn to a combination party space and caretaker's apartment. Financial sense got the better of me, and so we are leaving (restoring) its interior to what it was (or a close approximation thereof) of what it was must have been like when the barn was originally built. RD

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  2. Oh this will be an absolute gem, once boy gets his talented hands on it, I may want to move in.

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    1. Thank you, Tabitha, but this is Reggie's project! I've had the interior stripped back down to its original beams and rafters, removing all sorts of later mistakes. To see the bones emerge is quite exciting! RD

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  3. Hello Reggie, You are lucky to have so many surviving outbuildings, and are to be commended for including them in your restoration plan. Much of the charm and quality of old houses and buildings comes from their relation to the land and dependent buildings, and I am sure that when this project is finished, it will be amazing how much Darlington's charm will be enhanced.
    --Jim

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    1. Thank you, Jim. You are correct in that a period house's charm is enhanced by its relation to its outbuildings. We are fortunate to have so many of ours, as most similar properties in the area have lost theirs to neglect, decay, changing requirements, and the prohibitive cost of their maintenance. RD

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  4. Like you, I have found that working on projects unrushed often has its advantages, not the least of which is more considered approaches. I'm so happy that you are able to keep the barn's tin roof, and also glad that the original window plan will re-emerge (whatever were they thinking with those horizontal windows!?). I'll look forward to watching the progress!

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    1. Yes, Mark, the horizontal windows are mind-boggling, and I look forward to their removal and replacement. We've already replaced several of them, and the difference is most pleasing. RD

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  5. I look forward to the journey, Dear Reggie.I grew up in an 1832 colonial revival in MA with several outbuildings, one of which was a life size 'dollhouse' complete with slate patio and working fireplace. It's all changed hands now, alas, but your wonderful tales of Darlington bring me back. Your barn will be beautiful, I am certain, because you and Boy are wonderful stewards.

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    1. Thank you, Bebe. I have seen such play houses over the years, and consider them to be charming. I am aware of two buildings that have gone missing on our property. First, a building where one of the former owners practiced medicine (the ghost of its foundation emerges during periods of drought), and a privy, which the Procters took out in the 1930s. I secretly wish I had a privy on the property again, and have asked our architectural consultant to keep his eye out for a period one should it come up for sale... I'm not joking! RD

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    2. I did my dissertation on 18th- and 19th-century privies from an archaeological perspective. They are fascinating and very informative about many aspects of daily life. The 'house of office' or 'necessary', as it was called at different times, rarely survived but the filled privy beneath, when carefully excavated, is an archaeological gold mine. Diet, landscape, disease, and material culture use can all be determined in the right situation. It makes me wonder what you may have there!

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  6. Yes, an absolutely stunning collection of outbuildings (along with the main house of course). I'm green with envy. What a wonderful place you have.

    Best Regards,

    Heinz-Ulrich von B.

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    1. Thank you, Herr von Boffke -- such outbuildings are both a joy and a responsibility. I could have put one and a half children through Yale for what I've spent on mine so far! RD

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  7. Oh I didn't know about all these outbuildings. I love the fact you & Boy see this as a responsibility more as stewards to do this the right way. I look forward to seeing dispatches regarding these upcoming projects...especially that 'tin roof rusted' (couldn't resist a B-52 ref).

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    1. Thank you GSL. Architectural Digest rightly chose not to feature the outbuildings in their spread on our house. They correctly described the large gray barn as "rickety." I look forward to have its restoration completed, as it has become rather an eye-sore! RD

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  8. I love old barns RD, and the people who restore them. We used to go to Folly Farm, in Maryland - and there was a disco ball in the old barn- it was a great party space!
    Dean

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    1. Hello DF -- Now that is an excellent idea. I have had my eye out for a large stuffed Moose head to put up inside the barn, but now you've given me something else to consider! RD

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  9. A beautiful building and a fascinating project I shall follow with pleasure.

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  10. I love hearing the tales of those who choose to accept guardianship of historic homes & accept with great enthusiasm. It is gratifying to see you are honoring the design traditions of the historical period by not altering the basic structures or colors to reflect your own tastes and soothe your own egos.

    I also admire the notion of only moving ahead as is financially wise and not throwing all caution to the wind--many folks just throw $$$$$ at renovations wildly or worse (as in our 1956 bungalow do it all on the cheap thinking they won't outlive the effects of their poor decisions--I.e. duct tape as a fix-all; instead of digging a bit deeper to understand the cause of the original copper plumbing issues).

    I wish you the best of luck in your plans to make Darlington your fortress and refuge. I think the future generations of Proctors will be happy when they see what you have done with the old place or one day when you'll have a knock on the door and a grandchild will shyly ask to ask the house where they enjoyed a sweet summer vacation or magical Christmas and you can proudly show them the way you've saved the house from ruin.

    I wish you many happy days there!

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    1. Hello Anon, thank you for your kind and encouraging comment, it is greatly appreciated. We have maintained a good relationship with the son of Mrs. Procter, who lives across the street from us, and is now in his eighties. We invite him and his relatives to stop by whenever they like to see the work we've done (and continue to do) and it is a great pleasure to us that they are uniformly complimentary and happy with the improvements we've made. We welcome their visits. Reggie

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  11. Lovely outbuildings. Presumably you're not restricted by planning laws. In UK they are the bane of anyone's life, especially if it's Grade 1 (or A in Scotland). Your buildings are very worthy, and it is grand to see you maintaining them properly.

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    1. Thank you Columnist. Although our house is on the National Register of Historic Houses (both New York State and nationally) we are not subject to such restrictions. Only recourse such orgaizations have these days is to remove properties from their registers if and when they have been remuddled or ruined. RD

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  12. The community is so fortunate to have the two of you acting as owners/conservators of this most beautiful property. I would love to know how you decided upon just the right shade of green for your accent color. It is fresh and beautiful. You are doing a fabulous job, but then again Reggie, I am sure you know that!

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    1. Thank you, Anon. Since our house is on a main road we get many passers by, and many people comment on the work we have done and are doing. It gives me pleasure that so many find our work at Darlington interesting and appealing. Boy chose the green by carefully matching it (as best he could) to the color of green found on the shutters of many early 19th century paintings of New York State houses. RD

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  13. Hello Reggie, what a marvelous project you and Boy are undertaking. It makes me very sad to see homes of a certain age and character being butchered by their owners upon purchase, and making modifications that are not at all sensitive to the structure's age. Darlington, thank goodness, appears to be in good and caring hands.

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    1. Thanks very much CD -- We believe we are stewards of Darlington, and it is a great joy to be able to take care of it approriately. The Procters were very choosey when selling the place, and rejected a number of other offers (some higher than ours) because they were concerned that the puchasers would wreck the place. We had to convince them that we were the right people to take on the project of restoring (rather than ruining) the property and its buildings. Thanks, RD

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  14. I love the posting from Anonymous dated March 23rd...in which he/she references a knock on the door and a grandchild from the Proctor clan asks to revisit the glorious house they remember from their childhood. They always caution us not to return to a house dearly loved but in your case, it would be magical. Thank you for doing this the right way.

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  15. It is interesting that they went to all the trouble to add those huge horizontal windows, challenging the structural integrity not to mention a different direction in aesthetics. Is there any hint that they were reused from another location? Have you seen such windows in other outbuildings in your area?

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    1. Hello JJT: The horizontal windows were repurposed from another structure I believe. I have always suspected they came from a chicken coop. I can't wait to see the end of them! RD

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  16. I will be watching for the progress! Just wondering if there is still a fireplace inside the barn, as you removed the chimney?
    Happy Spring to you both!
    xxS{

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    1. Hello Slim, there was not a fireplace in the barn, but rather a small cast iron stove. It was pretty busted up when we bought Darlington, and quickly dispensed with. RD

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  17. Reggie, How fortunate your community is to have you and Boy there. What an undertaking, but a joyous one right? I've been following you awhile (you're actually on my blogroll for quite some time) but haven't visited recently. Looking forward to more posts. Shiree'

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  18. I can't wait to see this unfold! I second (third?) the party space suggestion. Our friends down the street had wonderful barn parties 'til they sold, in favor of having a dock. Although dock parties are pretty sweet too.

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  19. My husband and I are living in a 1915 farmhouse in central Virginia. During the 80s, after the house was sold by the original family to new owners, much was done to ruin it. Paneling, dropped ceilings, and other horrors. When we bought it, the mission was to "stop the bleeding." Now, several years and more dollars than I care to think about later, the projects that are looming are not essential and can be done at our leisure. I'll enjoy watching the progress (and not having to pay for it!) Best Wishes from another Old House steward.

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  20. Yes, those 60's garage doors do need removing! I will follow your progress keenly, as everything you boys do is done so well.

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