From Childhood Rides to Dream Barn Realized: Inside Odyssey Farms

A white modern farmhouse style horse barn with timeless features is warm and welcoming.

Welcome to Odyssey Farms. Nora Zimmett’s recently completed dream barn situated in Cherokee County, Georgia, is just an hour north of Atlanta. The newly built barn has a classic layout with a breezeway down the middle and stalls on both sides. Nora worked with Barn Pros to customize one of their existing designs. Scott Glass of Ironstone Construction built the barn, a first time barn for him, but Nora admired his work on houses in the area. Nora entered the barn design process with a vision for two-story ceilings and a donut loft to maximize air circulation during the hot Georgia summers; multiple cupolas for the same reason, and a large tack room to be the barn’s “living room”.

Nora credits her trainer, Amy Beal for being an inaugural part of the design and build process. She made sure the barn was functional and beautiful, ensuring only good choices were made along the way. The 7-stall barn houses a tack room, feed room, bathroom, and two hot and cold wash racks.

Credits:

Scott Glass of Ironstone Construction

Ryan Colwell of Ironstone Construction

Barn Pros for the original barn kit

Stalls by Classic Equine Equipment

Edhi Lara for landscape design

Photography by Amanda Jordan of Buck It Equine

One of Nora’s favorite barn features are the rubber pavers lining the center aisle. They were an investment, but absolutely worth it.

Nora began riding horses at just 7 years old, introduced to the sport by her father. Living in New York City at the time, he came home one day and announced they were going to start horseback riding. Every weekend, they took the commuter train to Westchester to ride with Wayne Carol, a well-known trainer at the time. Over the years, they purchased horses and became deeply involved in fox hunting—especially her father. While Nora enjoyed the experience, her true passion was horse showing, although she was only able to compete in two or three shows a year.

At 15, Nora stepped away from riding as teenage life took over. She missed it but didn’t expect to ever return to the sport. That changed 22 years later, when her own daughter turned 7. Wanting to find something they could enjoy together, Nora suggested they take a few riding lessons.

As anyone familiar with the sport knows, it can quickly become a passion. Within just a few years, both Nora and her daughter owned horses and were regularly competing in shows. They learned from many different coaches along the way. Nine years later, Nora decided it was time to have a farm of her own—where she could take full responsibility for her horses’ care and eventually offer them a permanent retirement home.

Both wash stalls feature double fans, along with hot and cold water.

The stalls inside the barn are by Classic Equine Equipment and feature their European stall fronts.

The ceilings are two stories high with a donut loft circling the entire barn, the loft is accessed through a staircase in the feed room. As the design process progressed, there were unexpected choices along the way, Nora explained.

“Originally, I had wanted black wrought iron railings around the donut loft instead of opaque wooden walls, but the wooden walls make for a cleaner look (and hide storage).”

The cupola lights are triggered at night when it gets dark and they shine so brightly you can see them from the road. They light up the whole barn and are another favorite feature inside the barn.

Tack Room

The spacious and organized tack room has a place for everything, promoting organization.

Nora’s father, Mark Zimmett is an attorney with a passion for woodwork. He designed and created the bridle hooks and saddle racks. The trunks are from Equitex and the perfectly fitted baskets are from The Container Store. Built in storage and a bench keeps everything else out of sight.

A washer, dryer and utility sink is another convenient feature inside the tack room.

Equestrian details are carried throughout the barn bathroom with a lovely stirrup towel holder.

A set of double doors opens up to the covered porch overlooking the outdoor ring.

Outdoor Spaces

The design of Odyssey Farms was inspired by the first edition of Stable Style’s coffee table book, which featured DarkHorse, in Ridgefield, Connecticut, which is around the corner from where Nora first learned to ride as a child, Nora explained.

“The DarkHorse property had just been sold when I saw it in Stable Style, and while I wasn’t able to track down the new owner, I drove up to the property (my parents live about 10 minutes from it) and studied as much as I could. Between that visit and the feature in Stable Style, I came up with a similar design that became the template for my builder, Scott Glass.”

Landscape and hardscape artist Edhi Lara exceeded the project’s expectations, making the exterior look beautiful, but also designed practical features, like the hidden loading dock for the manure spreader, and the slate stone drive for horses and utility vehicles.

Hay and shavings are stored in a small garage designed to resemble a charming cottage, located on the opposite side of the driveway. The structure is intentionally styled to look like a quaint guest house. The garage door, measuring 16 by 20 feet, was specifically built large enough to allow hay and shavings delivery trucks to back in and unload with ease. The horse treadmill is kept under the eaves of the small carport.