RAISING the BARN

A Dutch barn from the 1800s enjoys new life as a rustic retreat that welcomes the whole family to come kick up their boots-the muddier, the better.

- KATHRYN O'SHEA-EVANS

There's just something about a barn that tugs at a person's heartstrings. "They're timeless and part of our country's history," says Chris Clay, architect for Bozeman, Montana-based Miller Roodell Architects (miller-roodell.com). And then there's the country building's practicality. "The framework of a barn is laid out in a grid to shelter livestock or store the season's hay," says firm principal Matt Miller. "We can manipulate that grid to create a smaller, cozy bedroom or office, or leave it more open and grand like a great room."

That built-in practicality came in handy when the firm's Oregon-based clients purchased a circa-1800 Dutch barn, known as the "Remmer's Barn," from New York's Hudson River Valley to use as part of their retreat near a 1930s family cabin on property in Idaho. The architects built a new energy-efficient steel-and-wood structure around the barn's centuries-old posts, beams, and rafters-all Eastern white pine and hemlock with mortise-and-tenon joints-which provided an exposed-storied framework for the home's interior.

There was just one major challenge: the Rocky Mountains are as surly today as they were in the 1800s. "During the winter months, the site was only accessible by snow machines, snowmobiles, or track vehicles," Matt says. Still, the struggle was worth it. With its soaring double-sided stone fireplace, rough-sawn barnwood walls, and cuddly wool upholstery, the home provides the perfect shelter from the storm. And, as in any good barn, you'll find myriad perches to put your stockinged feet up like an Appaloosa in repose.