1947
One of our favorite things in the barn is our 1947 Ford. Her early days were spent on an apple farm in New York. When we found her, she was in a barn in Edgefield, South Carolina. After a few years of restoring her, she now sits comfortably in the barn, providing a place of rest. And yes, she does run. It is an original truck, with an original flathead V8. Every now and then, we take her out for a family picnic.
When we began dreaming about this space, we knew we wanted a place that would nurture creativity, bring people together, and provide respite. There was never a grand plan; the puzzle pieces were scattered in our minds and around the world, and they are still falling into place. When friends and family are not occupying the barn, it is used as a creative space for photography, videography, writing, and recording.
The building itself is a steel and metal frame with an open floor plan studio design. We aimed for an "aged rustic" feel in the barn, so we thought beyond conventional materials and sought ones that could be repurposed or might not typically find a place in an interior space. The walls are adorned with poplar that was reclaimed from scrap wood at an Amish mill in Kentucky. The west wall features 100-year-old tongue and groove wood that was salvaged from the roof of an industrial warehouse in downtown Jacksonville. The interior roof boasts aged metal from a warehouse roof in Green Cove Springs.
RICHMOND HILL
As we designed our petite barn bathroom, we embarked on a hunt for a specific 'clawfoot tub.' After discovering this 100-year-old cast iron tub outside of Savannah, Georgia, we soon learned that it had been used in the home of Henry Ford. The motorcar mogul, Henry Ford, had a tremendous impact on a small town in coastal Georgia. When Ford established his winter home in the struggling area that would later become Richmond Hill, he and his wife aimed to uplift the town and eradicate the poverty that plagued the region. They brought jobs to the community, eliminated malaria, and provided access to healthcare for the beleaguered citizenry.