Raised In A Barn

As much time as I spent there, I wasn’t technically raised in a barn. I lived in a regular house in a pretty normal neighborhood. However, I do currently live in an 1100 sq ft barn apartment with my sweet husband, Ryan, and our Husky, Koda.

Dancer only lives in the barn sometimes. And he’s usually not very happy about it. He prefers the pasture and all of its grass-filled glory.

As a kid, I thought living in a barn apartment would be the ultimate in housing. Just walk down a flight of stairs to a barn full of horses. What could be better? These days, I still agree that living in a barn is pretty great. Ours is quite simple compared to others I’ve seen, but we’ve managed to give it a unique flair.

With only one bedroom and two closets, storage can sometimes be an issue. As much as my husband would like to just toss everything we can’t find a place for, I know that isn’t an option for some things. Because of this, we’ve had to think creatively when it comes to storage. Book shelves have doubled as storage for clothing and shoes, and we definitely try to store seasonal items down in the barn’s garage. The slanted walls have prevented us from hanging a lot of our original art collection, but we’ve managed to get around it by using frame stands on tables and desks. Yes, there is more dust, more bugs and more mice (gross!), but we’ve managed to keep it under control for the most part thanks to our local farm store who supplies us with plenty of pet friendly sprays and mouse traps! (Why do mice have to be so cute?!) Yes, it’s a little further from town but we’re close to the highway so getting into town isn’t quite as frustrating as it could be. Who wants to live in the noisy, busy city anyway?

With all of the challenges that come with living in a small space, the opportunity to live on such beautiful land with my horse has been worth it! I have thoroughly enjoyed sitting out on our porch and looking down at Dancer grazing peacefully below. Wild deer sometimes join in as well! Coming home from a stressful day at work is much more relaxing when you’re out in nature, far away from the office and all of the traffic. It’s a lot easier to squeeze in a little horse time during our crazy schedules now that he’s here, and I thoroughly enjoy all of the day-to-day things like feeding, grooming, mucking, etc… I definitely recommend barn living to those looking for something a little different. Here are some other barn apartments that I wouldn’t mind living in…

CLICK HERE to view more photos of an amazing barn apartment I would absolutely LOVE to call home!