A Courtyard Barn Creates a Peaceful Environment for its Occupants

Designed with animal and human harmony in mind, this barn is a special place.

Nicole Cohen Jacobs reached out to Blackburn Architects over fifteen years ago to create her dream barn. Nicole came to the DC-based architecture firm with her ideas, designing many of the barn’s details herself, cutting costs to conceive a tranquil space for her family and their animals. Blackburn turned Nicole’s vision into a reality, designing the distinctive California property to create chic barn structures nestled among the Sonoma vineyards.

Nicole embraced her aesthetic which she refers to as the DirtyGlamourLifeStyle, which promotes living in harmony.

“The stable design was all about giving the animals a safe and beautiful environment that us humans could also share. I really want to promote the DirtyGlamour lifestyle, which to me is about living amongst animals in harmony, with blurred separations,” Nicole said. “It is not the easiest life to keep clean – no white carpets, but the joy the animals bring us makes the extra upkeep worth it. The place may not have the most expensive details, but it does have soul, and I’m proud of that.”

Photography by Chad Jackson Photography

Nicole opted for field stone to be used for all of the aisles and paths around the barn to create an “old world” look and feel. Over time a subtle path has started to become visible where the horses and people walk, making the stone feel as if it has been there for 100 years.

There are eleven 12′ x 24′ stalls with rubber mats in the barn. Nicole wanted spacious stalls for her large warmbloods. The side walls between the stalls are 6′ high, allowing the horses to socialize, interact with each other and have “nose wars”. The stall fronts were designed by Nicole and a local welder made the frames.

“I wanted a wavy look with less edges than the typical yoke doors on the market. The curves seem to prevent head accidents as there are no corners to hit. I also did the cross ties in stone in the same style,” Nicole explained. “I had the welder make mini donkey sized windows for their stalls, at a 3’ height off ground, so they could see into the courtyard. The 3 of them usually are free to roam the farm, but put themselves to bed at night in their stall. My pygmy goats also gave birth in those stalls which was very sweet.”

The barn complex is arranged around a courtyard. The courtyard was intended to permit animals to roam loose naturally at times. The barn’s structure is composed of douglas fir and features a simple iron oxidized metal roof. There is no plywood under the metal to retain the soothing sound of the rain.The farm also has paddocks for horses, donkeys and goats. Blackburn Architects also planned a gallop trail around the perimeter and a small pond near the center of the property for irrigation. Creating the pond provided dirt so elevation could be given to the residence since the property was so flat.

The central fountain is beautiful to look at and also serves as a hang-out area for the horses to drink and graze after riding.

Relaxing Spaces

The barn has what Nicole refers to as “people stalls”. One of them is this gym/spa area with a tub. It’s a place to relax and enjoy spending time at the barn. Every space was built with intention and Nicole hasn’t completed this project yet.

“I’m still working on the tack room! It is just a cedar walled room at the moment with my tack ‘waiting’ for me to decide on the final design,” Nicole said. “I want to make it very special, but have not gotten around to that project yet. We were hit by two fires the past 5 years and it took all resources to put the farm back together again. The barn was scorched, but did not ignite. Thank God!”

Nicole’s entire farm is a relaxing and laid back place to enjoy being with the animals and nature. Vineyards surround the east, west and south sides. Careful site planning allowed Blackburn to bring this one of a kind project to life.