I want to make sure Charles Cooley's barn that he built in the 80s is taken care of. I plan on using it for my equines when I move there in 2028. It is smart to take baby steps when moving forward on a big project, so starting with the barn makes sense. Smaller amounts of money, preserving the value of what is there...this is a perfect smaller project for the here and now.
Thanks to a friend of a friend who lives in Randolph, Vermont herself, I got a recommendation for a Vermont builder Matthew Greene who will start work on the barn in March/April depending on the weather.
Here are his plans:
I love this barn. Mostly because my father-in-law built it himself. He thought about what would work on this site. He lived there. He knew the site. He grew up and farmed just down the road. What better designer could one ask for!?
I love that the horses are below with direct run-out to a paddock area. I love that the hay loft is above, yet accessible as if on the ground level since it has a road that goes up above and around the barn to the back, straight into the loft! A barn built into a hill. Thank you Charles.
Photo of Charles Cooley by photographer Jack Rowell
Let me add one more item...paint that rusting metal door red or maybe a new door with a window.
This will be the view that horses get again some day. Below Lippitt Morgans Fern Hill Alexandra (my <3 horse Lexa) and her mom Suzanne Royalty (Charles's <3 horse) in that same barn's pasture.
