A 3-Stall Barn for Horses & Entertaining Outside of Chicago

A private barn with modern farmhouse style.

Affectionately known as Blue Moon Farms, this beautiful barn is situated on 4-acres along the Chicago River, the North Shore of Chicago. Lisa and Jim Challenger customized a prefab barn from Morton Buildings, which was built on site for them.

Finding a local contractor who was willing to build a barn proved to be difficult. Located just 20 miles from Chicago, the Challenger family has the only horse property in their town.

“Northfield used to be a farming community and you are grandfathered in for horses if you have two or more acres,” Lisa said. “Blue Moon Farms is the only property with horses in our town, and there is only one other farm left! When we bought the property it was a single residence home, which a contractor had made an offer on to build multiple homes. The timing was right and we were able to buy the property- and the neighboring property along the river, and live our dream ‘country life’ right here just outside the city!”

The barn is the perfect place for cocktails and charcuterie. The farmhouse is often used as a gathering place for hosting events – from Friday night pizza parties to charity benefits and sourdough baking workshops. As the owners of Challenger Breadware, the Challengers are excellent bakers.

The 3-stall prefab barn design was completely customized to include an attached garage, lean-to, swinging stall door, automatic waterers and feeders along with other features including a heater, cupola, and weathervane.

One of Lisa’s favorite practical features is having a heated barn. Midwest winters often involve plenty of below zero days. The heat keeps the pipes and automatic waterers from freezing. It also makes barn chores much more tolerable in the winter.

The striking barn is aesthetically pleasing and visible from almost every room in the house. It matches the look and style of the family’s modern farmhouse. Be sure to follow @challengerjournal on Instagram for a closer look at life around the farm.

The barn is home to two equine residents, Charlie and Jackie. The two stalls next to each other have an adjustable wall, which can easily be turned into one large stall. The third stall is currently being utilized for hay storage. In the future, alpacas might be joining the farm – but that involves petitioning the village first.