The other night I went to a lovely dinner party at my friend Katie Hylen’s house. I’ve known Katie for years but have never been inside her home. I’ve driven past the home that Katie shares with her husband Steve, many times and have always been intrigued, because the outside of their home looks like this (all photos, I believe, were taken by Katie Hylen):
Yes, that’s right, Katie and Steve live in an old dairy barn. The Hylens recently received an award from the Roxbury Historical Commission for the preservation of this beautiful farm. When you drive past, it still looks like a lovely old barn. While I had heard that they had done amazing things with the interior, I had no idea how amazing. Here’s their living room:
An upstairs studio:
A bedroom:
A hallway:
Okay, let’s just stop a moment so we can all catch our breath. Have you ever seen a more magical place? When I arrived the other night, the interior was almost entirely lit with candles. There were candles on tables, hanging from chandeliers and standing on long wrought-iron candelabras. The entire place smells like a spa! It’s enormous and yet it couldn’t possibly feel more warm and intimate. Okay, let’s look at the rest of the house.
The kitchen:
A bathroom:
The view from a kitchen window:
From their living room:
I know. I know.
Katie prepared our meal in their wood burning oven. She roasted game hens and sweet potatoes in this beautiful kitchen hearth:
Then she threw them on the stove and whipped up the most delicious sauce made from mushrooms and laced with a little cognac:
UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS!
Here we all are. Yes, it was girls only. So much fun:
It is just the most beautiful, magical place. Katie and Steve Hylen are both photographers and they use the massive upstairs loft as a studio. They also lease out the indoor studio space to other artists, photographers, dance companies, etc.
Last year, Steve Hylen won an Academy Award for innovative technical achievement. He invented an optical device for high-end Digital and Motion picture cameras. The lens is used in many films and commercials.
Which is sort of cool.
But here’s the coolest thing in my mind about the Hylens. THEIR HORSE LIVES IN THEIR HOUSE/BARN WITH THEM! That’s right, Katie’s sweet horse Cruiser has an immaculate stall in the far end of the former dairy barn. It’s in an unheated area (heat isn’t healthy for horses) where they keep their car and other equipment. Katie can visit her horse in her socks and jammies every night before she goes to bed. My dream!
Katie took some photos for my new blog, which should be up by early next week. I’ll also be interviewing Katie and Steve in an upcoming IN HOUSE Radio interview, but if you have any questions for Katie about their fabulous home in the meantime, you can post them here and I’m sure she’ll be happy to answer them.
Stunning!
How long did it take them to renovate the dairy barn?
HOLY COW.
Yes, I had to use all caps for that.
I can’t believe that’s in Roxbury! Now I’m racking my brain wondering where I may have seen an old dairy barn over there (hello, they’re everywhere).
It’s beautiful!
My only question was if they had horses, and if so, were they in the barn/ house too? Actually, that’s 2 questions. But I’m thrilled and slightly obsessed now, and wondering how I can fit a 4 stall barn in my basement.
That is beyond gorgeous. And a dinner with the girls, what can be better? Thanks for sharing.
Katie, how old is the dairy barn?
WOW! That house is amazing-and with a room for their horse, no less!
My question is: When they were house-hunting, did they have a particular house in mind, or did they stumble on this one and found it to be the perfect space?
Gasp. I need to gather my thoughts after viewing those photos, but just want to register an “Oh my God!” for now.
whoa. i saw this earlier, my jaw dropped, and now i’ve gathered myself enough to type.
it is so incredible and looks so serene. who needs meditation and yoga with a home like that. sigh… just gorgeous!
I’ve never seen anything like this. Beautiful. How gifted to be able to envision the potential of the dairy barn becoming such a useful, and charming home and business space. I love this. Thanks to Ann and Katie both for sharing the photos.
WOW! Astounding.
One question. How do you take a shower without getting water everywhere? I don’t see any glass or curtain. I just can’t wrap my head around it.
Ann, how lucky are you to get an invite there, I bet you were thrilled. I know this has already been asked but I too would like to know how long it took to transform the barn. Could you let your friends know I would mow and garden for free board, ha. Simply WOW. Another great post.
WOW! (And hi Tracy!!!)
FABULOUS! Thanks for giving us a peek. Would like to the see the horse tho. Am wondering how they heat and cool the place.
We had a fantastic dinner with the girls and we began the holidays with a very festive dinner! The barn has incredible light and warmth when friends are gathered cooking and enjoying each other’s company !
The barn was built in the late 60′s and used for a dairy barn until the late 90′s by the Voytershark family. We bought it in May of 2000 and it still had all the stanchions and milking equip. intact. The renovation took about 3 years however, it is a very big palette and there are endless ideas to complete the project. So it is really still a ‘work in progress’.
Thank you for your comments!
Katie
another W O W! Tks to Katie and Ann for sharing. Love the bathroom. I would love to have a shower just like that.
Are there fish in that pond……in the hallway…….of your barn?
Katie – I’ll move in right next to Cruiser – what time should I arrive?
Breathtaking.
I’ll add my wow too, and a whoa, that’s cool! I was wondering about the heating too. I’m being nosy, but how much square footage and/or what is the length of the place? If these are too nosy, please ignore.
Nearby are 2 neat renovated building: a 1910 firehouse near us that someone renovated about 10 years ago: they live upstairs and they have a boat renovation business downstairs. Also, someone is renovating an old church into a house.
Am I the only one who sees specific buildings like this and daydreams about how I could renovate and live in one?
Oh to be one of the girls!!!! Katie and Steve!!!! Magnifique!!!! Hugs to your dear horse!!
Ohh, spectacular photos! We were lucky enough to enjoy Christmas day at this house a few years ago while Katie and Steve were away, and my in-laws were housesitting. AMAZING!! Katie and Steve deserve major credit for the work they’ve put into that place. I saw it in increments of its remodeling and each time I visited the work was jaw dropping. There used to be a trapeze in the hay loft that provided lots of dinner party entertainment. Especially the night one of our friends played trapeze artist in a skirt and no panties. Oooh la la!
As my 83 year old father-in-law says, “wee wee wow!!!” (done w/ a new york accent)
Katie, really fabulous. You two are incredibly creative. I would love to visit someday! <3
It turns out that, in addition to being a first-rate example of what we in the city planning biz refer to as an “adaptive re-use”, the barn is on the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation’s inventory of the state’s historic barns. You can read much more about its history and architecture at:
http://www.connecticutbarns.org/159?section=overview
While I’m saddened at the loss of what must have been a pretty significant dairy farm here in Connecticut, I’m grateful to Katie and her husband for preserving (and sensitively re-using) this magnficant structure!
Wow! These pictures are incredibly gorgeous. I especially like the one of the view from the kitchen.
As a former cheesehead (a.k.a Wisconsin resident) I’d be interested to know what prompted them to rennovate a dairy barn. What was the inspiration for this enormous though lovely project? How did they decide on the design? They seem to be very creative people, so were they going for a particular feel for the house, or were they trying to incorporate new architectural designs?
OMG! I have an intense passion for houses and interior design and Real Estate, hence my job..I ate up this post like you would not believe!!! I adore the house just stunning!!! Something about all that glass and those views just really do it for me, How wonderful and thanks so much for sharing!!!
off to look at the stunning pictures again!!!
The place is stunning. I would like to spend a week there. I’m just wondering how these folks manage to heat the place, cool it in the summer, and how to maintain it so that it remains magazine worthy. I guess I’m wondering who scrubs all the toilets and floors. I would still like to vacation there. It’s a dream place. I can jog in it without going outside in the winter.
Gloria
I posted on the barn new use and it disappeared…
So, this is a test.
This was so amazing I was certain as I scrolled down that it was all going to be a joke. WOW. Too good to be true!
That house is amazing. And how cool to sleep in the same structure as your horse? JEALOUS! (Even though I don’t have a horse) Merry Christmas to you and yours, Ann! Thanks for the blog!
Really incredible. Please send plans for when I open my dream horse/dog sanctuary. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful thing that people you actually know made a reality.
Holy Cow! What an amazing site to see.
Beautiful home. Just gorgeous. But horses get lonely. There should always be two of them, at least.
I live 5 houses down from there, I absolutely love just driving by and and seeing the fireplace from the road. So pretty.
I once lived in this area and was searching for information about the old Voytershark dairy and Painter’s Ridge Nursery when I came across this. While I wish the new owners a lifetime of peace and health in their home, I was saddened to see what was once a piece of productive land is now a Marie-Antoinette farm palace. I wonder what awaits this piece of earth in the future when such large homes are once again impractical. Maybe cows will be moved back in to enjoy all that natural light.