153 County Road 6 Germantown, NY 12526

5 bed/4.5 bath - 4,300 sqft

The grounds at Barnswood were once part of the extensive Livingston estate established in the 1600s, and were reunited with the Livingston family at the turn of the 20th century when Alice and John Henry Livingston purchased the land and had it transformed into a thriving farmstead. The property remains abundant with ancient trees, century-old meadows with ample walking paths, and views of the Catskill Mountains over the foliage lining the property's edge.

When approaching a daunting reinvention of a farmhouse built in the 1900s, with numerous ill-fitting additions throughout the years, the owners had a unique perspective - in the process of bringing history and warmth back into the home, they also wanted to bring in elements of early 19th century architecture that felt more authentic to the land and the surrounding homes. The result is a beautifully envisioned, cozy interior with texture and depth - limewashed walls, hand-picked stone floors in utility areas, the perfect balance between entertaining spaces and places for rest, and the most impressive use of reclaimed wood beams and floors.

The exceptionally tall wood interior doors were sourced in Egypt and then restored by an architectural salvage team in Alabama. The pine beams throughout the home were saved from a circa 1800s barn dismantled along the St. John River in Maine and the floors restored after being rescued from an old Canadian clothespin factory.

Down a stone path from the main house past a lovely stone patio is the quaint guest cottage, with a bedroom and full bath on the first floor, and a large vaulted ceiling bedroom on the second floor. The cottage has been created with the same level of detail as the main house with limewashed walls, reclaimed wood floors, and 19th-century beams. The barn sits unassumingly at the end of the compound, its agrarian exterior hiding its marvelous interior that is fully restored as a living space.