When Katya Potkin and Bart Stein bought their 20-plus-acre property in Ancramdale, a small hamlet about two hours north of New York City, there wasn’t a lot going on with the barn. “When we moved in, it was wide open—nothing in it except for some dead mice,” recalls Katya. There was a rumor that it had been used as a pottery studio a few owners back, but only the empty structure remained. “It was very bare bones,” says Katya. “It didn't have any insulation. It was basically wooden walls and a metal roof.” They left it alone while they settled into the nearby main house.

Before: Exterior

Then when the pandemic hit in 2020, Katya and Bart started thinking about what they could do with the extra space. “This was before vaccines, and we thought it would be nice to have a place for my parents or family to stay,” says Katya.

They started researching local firms, and they were drawn to the portfolio of Barlis Wedlick Architects, who have offices in Hudson and New York City. “They were exactly what we were looking for, as our aesthetic is bring a little bit of city flair to country living,” says Katya. “Rustic, but not too on the nose about it.”

After: Exterior

Before: Exterior Doors

After: Exterior Doors

Beyond the aesthetic, the couple needed the guesthouse to be flexible in use, and able to accommodate at least a couple, and optimally a few more. “We wanted to have more than just one bedroom,” says Katya, so that friends could bring their kids—or so the couple’s own children could have friends stay over. “We thought, decades from now, our kids might use it when they were coming home from college.”

Architect Doug Huntington divided the 675-square-foot floor plan into a main room with a living area and kitchenette, and then clustered a bedroom and bathroom together on the other side. A combination mudroom/bunk room outfitted with custom storage and two beds sits adjacent to the main entrance, a door connects the space to the bathroom, which also opens to the bedroom. “It becomes this pretty unique little bunk/mudroom, but still allows flexibility for access to that bathroom from two directions,” says Huntington.

Before: Interior

After: Living Room and Kitchenette

“It was important to us to maintain a sense of place with the project,” says Katya. To that end, the firm grounded the exterior palette in the building’s existing materials. “We were able to reuse 100 percent of what was there,” says Huntington. The design team removed the siding and roof to add insulation, then reinstalled everything and finished the interior. Then they slotted in sliding-glass doors and large windows, which can be covered by the existing sliding barn doors.

“One of our biggest goals was to achieve that perfectly rustic and refined balance,” says interior designer Tina Schnabel. They covered the ceiling in salvaged wood, and the floors in white oak. The large windows and doors punctuate cream-toned walls, which are sheathed in sheetrock and supported by the barn’s exposed structural framework. The custom oak cabinetry and bunks work with more rustic wood elements, but exude refinement in their precise detailing.

After: Bunk/Mudroom

After: Bathroom

Since storms and high winds often knock out power in the area, Katya and Bart wanted the guesthouse to be “self-sufficient.” A rooftop solar array with an additional storage battery ensures off-grid capabilities.

Now, the barn welcomes guests of all kinds, and it’s also acted as an extra office in a pinch. Just recently, the couple relocated to the guesthouse for a day when the farmhouse lost electricity for several hours. “It’s served so many purposes,” says Katya.

After: Bedroom

More Before & After stories:

A Designer Fixes Up a Collapsing House on a Kentucky Horse Farm

A Ramshackle Barn in Northern California Becomes a Family’s Rural Retreat

A Country Home Blossoms in the Ruins of an Old Stone Barn

Project Credits:

Architect: Barlis Wedlick Architects / @barliswedlick

Builder: Bill Stratton Building Company

Structural Engineer: Taconic Engineering

Interior Design: BarlisWedlick Architects

Other: Hudson River Solar

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Before & After: A Couple Turn a Bare-Bones Barn Into an Off-Grid Cabin