A Circa-1830 Barn is Transformed into Entertaining Space

In the cocktail area of her circa-1830 hay-barn-turned-great room, Taylor McLaughlin added layers that nod to history, including an antique women’s polo mallet and vintage tennis rackets. Modern pieces, such as the navy raffia-wrapped console by Villa & House, keep the room grounded in the present.

Of the American flag, McLaughlin says: “We wanted to add something that felt like it had always been in the barn. It introduces a rhythm and an energy.” The coffee table is vintage Ralph Lauren.

Vintage finds bring life to the antique English pine hutch.

A new breezeway attaches the barn to the home and doubles as a mudroom and “drop zone” when the kids come home from school.

Designer Taylor McLaughlin in her mudroom with a runner by Annie Selke and custom Sister Parish and Schumacher pillows.

Unlike anything you’d find at a big-box hardware store today, the original nineteenth-century beams were hand-hewn from whole logs—and still bear the nicks and scars of steel tools.

A vintage Slim Aarons photograph lends midcentury polish to the dining area, where the table is dressed in a crisp tablecloth and cordless lamps from Mrs. Alice.

A windowpane-patterned rug brings graphic order to the living area, anchoring the arrangement with geometry. New French doors usher in light. Velvet throw pillows by Kravet and a sculptural stucco table lamp from Pooky complete the vignette.

Historic barn renovation in Wilton, Connecticut

When Taylor McLaughlin first stepped foot in the circa-1830 barn that would become her family’s great room in Wilton, it was mired in history, to say the least.

“When we toured the house, the barn was storing over 4,000 antique tools,” says McLaughlin, the founder of Gracia Taylor Design, noting that local preservationist Walter Smith had transported the structure beam by beam for a historical museum. “There were exposed nails everywhere, raw floors, an open loft area, an open iron spiral staircase…essentially a nightmare for anyone with small children.”

The space had no heating or cooling, but McLaughlin saw potential. “The actual bones were amazing,” she says, recalling the hand-hewn timbers and wide-plank floors.

McLaughlin—who has design in her blood as the great-great granddaughter of the founder of Cross & Cross, the architecture firm behind Tiffany & Co.’s 1940 flagship—set about adding a breezeway with a mudroom that would connect the barn to the colonial-style main house. “We wanted to preserve the charm, the history, the story of the barn while making it family friendly and kid safe,” says McLaughlin, who has two children. “We wanted it to be a space where we could host twenty toddlers running around, but it also felt right for a really beautiful Christmas party with just our friends or a quiet night by the fire.”

Creating a Storied Interior

In addition to making the space livable with mini splits and other modern niceties, McLaughlin brought in elements that would suit the barn’s original era, including double French doors, antique windows from upstate New York she found on Facebook Marketplace, and a custom patio built using beams from the 1800s.

Because of technological advances in woodworking, “beams all look different depending on when they were created,” she says. “We wanted them to look like all the other beams.”

McLaughlin’s furniture and accent decisions add to the layered aura of history, including vintage photos—yes, that’s FDR with McLaughlin’s great-great grandmother—and nods to her family’s interests, including patinaed tennis rackets and rowing oars. In a world where step-by-step advice on getting the Ralph Lauren aesthetic can go viral on social media, McLaughlin has found the answer. “It isn’t a formula, it’s a feeling.”

Project Team
Interior design: Gracia Taylor Design
Builder: Pugo’s Painting & Remodeling
Landscape design: Hoffman Landscapes