A Weekend Getaway in Their Own Backyard
Perhaps the most unique addition is their guest house, which Patty and Joe use as their personal getaway. “We stay there on the weekends,” Patty explains, “It sounds rather silly, but you avoid traffic.” They load up their golf cart with essentials and relocate from their main house to the guest house from Friday through Monday morning. It’s their way of escaping without actually leaving, pretending they’re in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine.
It’s a fully functional living space with a complete kitchen, built by Joe, featuring a bar, stove, and propane heater. They even repurposed a sink found on the side of the road to enhance the rustic farm feel. With insulation from Country Carpenters, the guest house remains warm and cozy even in winter. It includes a full bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet, all plumbed with a water heater. An upstairs area provides additional space, kept comfortable by a fan and an air conditioner for warmer days. This comprehensive setup makes it ideal for family visits and their own weekend escapes, especially since their main house has limited bedroom space.
Country Carpenters: Blending the New with the Old
These charming small buildings are the handiwork of Country Carpenters, a family-owned/operated business based in Hebron, Connecticut, specializing in post and beam construction. Patty and Joe were particularly drawn to Country Carpenters because their designs seamlessly blend with the 18th and 19th-century aesthetic of their farm. Roger Barrett III, the director of sales and grandson of the company’s founder, shares that his grandfather’s, Roger Barrett Sr., passion for historic 1750s colonial American architecture heavily influenced the designs. Roger Barrett Sr. and his wife, Lois spent decades documenting old New England homes and barns, and these elements are evident in every structure Country Carpenters builds.
A She-Shed and a Blacksmith’s Dream
Among the new additions are two personalized spaces. Patty’s “she-shed” is a delightful dollhouse workshop. She specializes in restoring colonial-style dollhouses, focusing on re-wallpapering, flooring, and molding the interiors. Her current projects include converting a colonial dollhouse into an ice cream and candy shop. The shed itself boasts a charming diamond-patterned floor in blue and yellow, meticulously mapped out by Joe and painted by Patty.
Next door is Joe’s passion project: a blacksmith’s shop. Blacksmithing runs in his family, spanning back hundreds of years. Both his father and grandfather were blacksmiths, and Joe fondly recalls “smacking the red-hot iron” as a child. While still setting up, Joe plans to create hobby-type items like hinges and decorative hooks, not envisioning heavy-duty work. For him, having this dedicated space on his property is a dream come true.
Bringing Your Tiny House Dreams to Life
If you’re inspired by Patty and Joe’s unique property, Country Carpenters offers a range of buildings through their subsidaries, Post and Beam Barns and Early New England Homes. A garden shed, from Post and Beam Barns, for example, typically takes two to three weeks to assemble, with the overall project from purchase to delivery usually spanning four to six months.
The “tiny house” trend, especially as exemplified by Patty and Joe, showcases how smaller, well-designed structures can transform a property into a personalized oasis. Imagine going on vacation right in your own yard—it’s a truly terrific concept!
To learn more about their incredible work, visit the Country Carpenters website at countrycarpenters.com.