There was a time when Kelli de la Torre had known one thing for certain: she never wanted to build her own home. But by 2024 everything had changed. Suddenly she was the newly minted owner of a near-empty 11.5-acre property in Dripping Springs, Texas, where she would soon build a barn for Haven x Campise Farms, her rescue foundation that provides end-of-life care for senior and disabled horses, and a home for her and her eight-year-old son.

They say you shouldn’t do business with a neighbor, but after Kelli fell in love with the look of a barn adjacent to her property, that’s exactly what she did. Needing a space for her six horses, Kelli called the barn’s owner and designer, Tina Ford. Ford, who’s spent years in barns all over the world alongside her daughter, a former competitive equestrian, has a portfolio with a number of custom homes and, increasingly, boutique barns.

Around March 2024, when the design process was still in its early conceptual stage, Kelli received the unexpected news that her son had been accepted into a nearby school for the upcoming fall semester; this turned a business-as-usual timeline into an all-hands-on-deck fire drill. “I threw all the challenges at Ford: I had a little boy starting school, a herd of blind horses, and a real specific aesthetic,” recalls Kelli. Because a standalone home and a barn weren’t looking feasible to create given this time constraint, instead, Ford designed the barn to include an 876-square-foot lofted living space.

The loft, which is accessed from the stables via a plywood staircase, is an open-concept space that flows from a living room to an eat-in kitchen, culminating in a balcony that overlooks the horses’ troughs. Kelli’s bedroom is open to the living space, while the space where her son sleeps is more private. A pantry houses the necessities for running day-to-day family life, including a washer and dryer, refrigerator, and coffee station. The loft’s open plan might not work for some, says Kelli, but adds that it’s perfect for her and her son, especially since he’s still young. And despite the property—or perhaps, more accurately, the horses—having an increasing number of visitors that include adults, families, children on field trips, and attendees of an upcoming sound bath event, Kelli insists that the loft feels exceptionally private.

That “real specific aesthetic” that Kelli shared with Ford plays out as a juxtaposition of two elements: the rusticity of the working barn and what Kelli describes as the luxurious femininity of the loft. In the kitchen, slabs of striated mauve marble form the backsplash and countertops (complete with a waterfall edge), accented by unlacquered brass hardware. She’s also quick to point out the custom reclaimed-wood dining table as a favorite item. Immediately enamored with the notches throughout the raw timber, Kelli loved the look all the more when she found out they are bullet holes.

$78,600 Foundation and Site Work	$73,890 Cypress Siding	$190,000 Framing and Structural
$24,375 Plaster Finish	$39,000 Rainwater System and Tank	$69,150 Roofing
$23,250 Sheetrock and Paint	$57,000 Electrical and Fixtures	$33,000 Plumbing and Fixtures
$12,500 HVAC	$35,000 Cabinetry and Millwork	$42,000 Kitchen Appliances
$82,400 Custom Steel-Framed Windows and Doors	$23,200 Countertops, Shower Walls, and Bathroom Floor	$6,500 Antique Cypress Doors
$8,500 Antique Pine Flooring	$25,000 Stone Paver Barn Flooring	$88,700 Custom Barn Stalls
$23,000 Barn Door and Window Hardware	$63,500 Architectural Fees
Grand Total: $998,565

“I threw all the challenges at my designer: I had a little boy starting school, a herd of blind horses, and a real specific aesthetic.”
—Kelli de la Torre, resident

Even with their air of luxury, the interiors are designed for durability; nothing is too delicate. The plaster walls, for example, normally not a go-to for families with young children given their fragile nature, feature a decades-old finish recipe devised by Ford that is water-resistant and therefore easy to clean, and withstand the wear and tear of everyday life. The shiplap hardwood floors, an early request by Kelli, are made with 12-inch-wide timber planks salvaged from homes that were nearly 100 years old. Ford buffed them and applied a wax seal for added durability. “They’re not precious. You can wear your muddy boots from the barn inside if you really want to,” she says.

Despite a frenzied five-month timeline, Kelli, her son, and their horses were able to move into the barn on schedule in September last year. Eventually, Kelli plans to build a larger home on the property and potentially turn the loft into an extension of her foundation, offering overnight stays to support the cost of caring for her animals. And while Ford—now Kelli’s official neighbor, trusted designer, and friend—recently completed the design of the forthcoming home, for now Kelli is content to settle into her new, unexpected space. “Between Haven and Mom-ing, I needed to land,” says Kelli. “So this is it. This is home.”

More Budget Breakdown stories:

This $558K Texas Home Celebrates the Charm of Simple Sheds

In Rural Texas, a Couple Build an Off-Grid Forever Home for $1.68M

Project Credits:

Designer of Record: Ford Design / @forddesignllc

Builder/General Contractor: Ford Design

Structural Engineer: Mac Fariabi

Landscape, Lighting, and Interiors: Ford Design

Stylist: Walker Wright

Furnishings and Art: Hailey Kolbe / @haileykolbe