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Subscribe The studio at Sassafras Farm is built over the old cellar. The cellar was built into a hill behind the house, and the studio was, of course, a later addition. It backs to the house and faces out to the upper pastures.
It’s accessed by the steps to the deck from the driveway.
Or by a stone path that leads around the other side to the back porch of the house.
The space is amazing in its bones. In the details, it’s a total gut job. (Note that the studio is currently a major landing area for unpacked boxes as well as furniture that doesn’t fit anywhere else.)
As it currently exists, there is a small but complete kitchen in the rear. It has a gas stove, small fridge, dishwasher, etc, and they even left a microwave.
There is a large closet taking up quite a bit of space to the right side of the kitchen area.
Oddly, when I first saw the studio, there was a bed in the kitchen. Right next to the kitchen sink/cabinets, etc. It really was just about the only place to put a bed, I suppose. This studio is really not big enough for a kitchen, bed, and sitting area. The only bed that would fit in here would be a Murphy-style bed or a sleeper sofa. As I mentioned before there were two men living in the house at the time I first saw it, and the sister of one of the men lived in the studio.
There is also a full bathroom in the studio with a shower.
In order to create a health department-approved commercial kitchen for classes and anything else I may want to do with it in the future, numerous changes will have to be made–which is why I say this is a total gut job. Aside from my “wants” there are also specific codes that must be followed. The flooring is unacceptable as is. (Carpet is a no-no for commercial approval.) I’m not sure about the walls, but they are most likely unacceptable and will need sealed in some way at the least, if not drywalled. I appreciate wood, but the studio walls and ceiling make the space very dark–in spite of the walls of glass doors. I like light and bright and airy. And of course, the kitchen setup as it stands is also unacceptable for commercial purposes.
However! What fun! I get to reimagine it and recreate it. The space itself is perfect. Here is what I see.
Closet–ripped out. It’s taking up space in my kitchen. The kitchen should wrap around all three rear walls, big commercial sink and so on. Huge island in the center of the kitchen space for demonstrations and classes, surrounded by bar stools for students. The walls and ceilings redone to make the space light and bright and airy, just how I love it.
In the outer sitting area, there is room for a large dining table for entertaining and other gatherings.
The views are awesome from the walls of glass doors.
There is a great multi-level deck leading off the studio going out to the upper pasture or down to the goat yard and barn area.
The possibilities this space offers are HUGE. And while I was much closer to achieving my dream of a commercial kitchen for classes and more with the work I’d done at Stringtown Rising, this space is SO MUCH BETTER. (And I don’t regret the work I did on my downstairs project at the other farm. That space is now a “sellable” space whereas before I did the work on it in the past year, it looked like a disaster. Now that the house is on the market, I’m glad to have the space in a marketable condition that adds value to the property. I didn’t know that’s what I was doing at the time, but sometimes life works that way.) It will take me longer to achieve my dream here, but my dream here is so much bigger because the space offers so much more potential.
The studio doesn’t offer any space for accommodations, of course–and neither does the house, since it’s quite small. BUT! Here is the direction I’m headed now: I want to build cabins–and there are many sites on this farm that are suited to this idea. (Not in the house area–along some of the nature trails at the base of the hillsides.) I’m thinking about cabins such as these–with the studio as the gathering/dining/teaching space.
So, as you can see now, this is a goal I’ll have to accomplish in stages, but I’m very excited about the potential here. Watch me make this amazing space happen!
I shall start with unpacking….
Posted by Suzanne McMinn on December 15, 2011
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WOW! You do have your work cut out for you, this sounds like a big renovation, and very costly.
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It may be a lot of hard work, but one thing you will never be bored.
Every day I look forward to read your blog. So much stuff going on.
Love the cabins.
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The cabin idea is great too. Are there other things in the area that might draw people in? In our area we have Pipestem and Bluestone State Parks which include golfing, a lake, and all sorts of outdoor activities. We also have ski slopes at Winter Place! Okay sorry, I went into marketing mode. What I was trying to say is some locals are setting up trailer campgrounds, building cabins like you showed, and trying to provide options for extended stays to get more tourists to visit.
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If I were adding cabins I put two together side by side and form a U with the bathrooms between them. Connect the two with two bathrooms side by side to form the bottom of the U & to minimize the costs of installing plumbing. Installing drains & running water to the cabins would be the most expensive part of it so doing it only once for two cabins makes sense. A very large shared hot water tank could serve both. Then if you have a family group they could rent both and be side by side. A small sink, mini-fridge and microwave for each completes the kitchette. The studio could be common space and breakfast room. A fully functional bed and breakfast or farm stay business!
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That room will make a beautiful dining room! And if you have a dining room there for celebrations, then when you renovate the kitchen in the house you could include an eat-in space for everyday (like an old-fashioned farmhouse kitchen), and reclaim the dining room area for other uses. When you’re ready to redo the farmhouse kitchen, maybe you should contact This Old House. Who knows? It might be just the project they’re looking for.
I’m wondering about how big a project it would be to get electricity, water, and septic to the building site for the cabins? I’ve noticed that most people’s desire for a rustic getaway doesn’t extend to keroscene lamps and privies.
Well, you’ve got plenty of time to explore the nuts-and-bolts; right now you’re still in the concept and possibilities stage, right?
Between running the farm, writing, and executing all your plans, you certainly have enough to keep you busy for a while.
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for the rest of my life !!!
Love the studio and the cabin idea is GREAT!
I want to make a reservation to come and stay
for a week, maybe a month, maybe I could just
stay forever.
Just wondering Suzanne – do you maybe have a dozen
clones of yourself secretly hidden away somewhere on
your farm? Or, do you have a magic formula that gives
you 48 hours in a day.
Just wondering how you DO ALL THIS !!!
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Also, keep in mind that you can use a lot of recycled materials to keep your costs down. I know you are all over that already, but there is a lot that I never would have thought of – my husband salvaged an old job shack (one of those little mobile units from construction sites) that had been grown into a field – and we used 2×4′s (even the short ones can be used as headers or cripples), insulation, and the metal siding as roofing (for a rabbit hutch).
And I love the studio. What an awesome space! I can’t wait to see all the changes, including unpacking!!
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