Home Improvement: Before & After: A 12-Stall Barn in California Gets A Gorgeous Makeover

Thursday 30 March 2017

Before & After: A 12-Stall Barn in California Gets A Gorgeous Makeover

When you’re in search of a modern farmhouse in the hills of Southern California’s Temecula wine country, but there’s not currently one on the market, what do you do? For starters, one path might be to think outside the box and look for ways to transform other structures into the home you dream of finding. For Ian and Lindsay Kujawa, they did just that — they found a 12-stall horse barn, built in 2008, and tured it into the 4,176-square-foot dream home that it is today. “While we were looking for a home, Ian pulled up a 12-stall horse barn that was for sale,” Lindsay shares. “He asked me what I thought about it. He said maybe we could gut it and transform it into our home. This sounded nearly impossible, yet like the ultimate dream all in one. The next morning we decided to take a little drive out to the barn to see it in person. I remember driving by slowly and seeing the barn up on the hill for the first time. I immediately got goosebumps and teary eyed. I KNEW it was for us and I knew that we could transform it into our dream home!”

The overall renovation took about eight months, mostly doing all the work themselves, with the help of friends and family. Living out of the second floor while getting started on the first level was the plan for this family of four and their dog. “The original barn had an existing apartment on the second floor above all the stalls. It had a little tiny kitchen with one bedroom and one (very small) bathroom. So we made the decision to renovate that part last and live upstairs while the rest of the renovation was going on around us. We called our temporary situation ‘loft living’ since the kitchen, eating area, boys’ beds, couch and TV were all in the same general space. It was pretty tight and I don’t know if I would recommend that or do that again,” Lindsay recalls.

With hopes of repurposing as much as possible of the barn, they were able to save the original beams and barn ceiling. “I have always loved bright, airy and happy spaces so my vision for our home was exactly that,” Lindsay says. “Since we had to decorate around all the existing beams, I choose low-profile mid-century modern pieces mixed in with farmhouse style elements to warm it up a little bit. I also wanted to keep with the theme of the original barn, so all the bedroom doors have sliding barn doors and there is barn lighting throughout.”

Now, with an open floor plan and open land for their two boys, ages four and six, The Kujawa Family has the home they didn’t believe they’d find. The have a place to entertain guests and family and they have the space they always dreamed of. Please enjoy this transformation from barn to the beautiful home it is today. —Erin

Photography by Lindsay Kujawa and Paige Buffington

SOURCE LIST

Living room

Couches: Thrive Furniture

Paint color all throughout: Dunn Edwards Cool December

Coffee table: Mt Hood Wood Works

Rug: RugsUSA

Turkish pillows: Flea market and eBay finds

Dining room

Table: Pottery Barn

End table chairs: Homegoods

Kitchen