Barn to home

The barn on Closson Road at County Road 2 will soon be covered in cheerful yellow board and batten siding.

The metamorphosis of an iconic County barn

At the barn that faces Belleville Road just south of Closson Road, a small group is finishing up an informal tour. They visited to see what was happening in the building, which has been under construction for just over two years.

This month, it will begin to take shape a little more, at least from the outside, when the cheerful yellow beam-and-batten external walls are mounted.

Rumors abounded when Krista and Peter Salisbury bought the 10-acre property at the corner. Originally part of the McFaul property across the road, the land had no residence on it, and many wondered— or worried—what would go in.

Some assumed the property would be turned into a vineyard. Shortly after they bought it, the Salisburys had to assure a concerned neighbour the entire lot would not be paved over and turned into a subdivision.

A subdivision is probably the last thing the couple, who currently live in Markham, want to see in the County.

Peter is from Devon, a seaside county in the UK where old stone buildings are a part of the landscape.

Krista is from Richmond Hill, where she and her parents saw the tiny farming town slowly evolve into paved-over suburbs.

In 2012, the couple decided to buy a cottage in the County. The two considered waterfront property. But the prices were too high and the lots were too small. When they discovered the old barn, though, they were sold on it immediately.

“His mum lived in a cottage that was 500 years old, with all the beams and wood and stone, and it just appealed to us,” says Krista. “We were looking in the County, loved it here, spent some time, just weekends and whatnot, looking for property… we saw the sign and we stopped in and we ended up buying the barn, kind of on the spot.”

This barn, says Krista, is at least 130 years old. In a painting shown in the Settler’s Dream, it is visible in the vista. In one of the entrances, they have installed a stone big enough that once they do learn the barn’s actual age, they can erect a plaque that will inform people 130 years from now.

They investigated, and worked with Mad Dog Gallery’s Brian Clark, a local architect who modified a barn into his gallery. The Salisbury’s barn, which still had a strong foundation and most of its original wood intact, was perfect for them.

What came out of that work was a magnificent four-storey design with plenty of open space. They will have a place to retire to, a place for their kids and their parents. Eventually, they will even rent some rooms in the grand building as a bed and breakfast.

Krista’s parents now live in Wellington, and will move into the barn when it’s finished its transformation. Her dad, Fred McLean, is a retired handyman and has been helping out almost daily with nailing and painting.

The Salisburys have hired professionals for much of the work. Locally, they’ve had help with engineering, design, electrical and plumbing, reserving only specialized work, like finding just the right kind of timber to match the old barn wood. But they do what they can themselves.

They are taking their time, after all. Both still have jobs in the city. Bit by bit, their barn is coming together. By winter, the windows will be cut and the drywall will be installed, and Krista’s parents will be ready to move into their suite, which already has plumbing and electrical installed.

“You can tell that it was smaller at one point in time,” says Krista. “It looks like it’s made up of old log cabins and different pieces. So we kind of think of this as just the next generation, if you will. We’re going to do something to it, transform it, and then hopefully it will be here for another 150 years.”

(L-R): Fred McLean stands with his son-in-law, Peter Salisbury and daughter, Krista, at the highest level of the barn, which is slowly turning into a home. The ceiling will remain as is.