Family Rural Lifestyle Before and after: 6 restored barns By Lisa Foust Prater Lisa Foust Prater Lisa started her career with Successful Farming magazine in 1999, working primarily for the web team and writing product reviews for the magazine. She later wrote for the Living the Country Life magazine and website and has written and edited several cookbooks and other books for Successful Farming and Living the Country Life. Today, Lisa is the Family & Farmstead Editor for Successful Farming, sharing interesting family features, heartfelt editorial columns, and important health and safety information. Her favorite thing about her job is meeting interesting people, learning their stories, and sharing them with our readers. Successful Farming's Editorial Guidelines Published on August 10, 2015 Trending Videos Close this video player 01 of 06 Ohio barn beauty When Barb and Jim Rohl moved to the Ohio countryside, they began an 8-year restoration process on their Pennsylvania-style barn, which was built in 1895 and was barely standing. They worked with a restoration contractor, who used period tools and early American construction techniques to return the barn to its former glory. Today it's used to host parties and events. See photos of the entire process in the link below. 02 of 06 New look, new life After having its structural damage repaired, getting a new roof, and having a fresh coat of red paint applied, the Bean Tobacco Barn in Maryland was restored to its former glory. It is now used by students for exhibits and events. 03 of 06 What's old is new again Living the Country Life editor Betsy Freese and her husband, Bob, found it would cost about the same to restore the 1917 barn behind their Iowa home or to tear it down and put up a modern structure. It took three months to complete the basic work, which included straightening the barn, replacing the foundation and haymow floor, and adding two lean-tos. Read more about the restoration process below. 04 of 06 Cattle shed turned horse barn This is the horse barn at Susan St. Amand's Virginia home before and after renovation. The barn was originally used as a cattle shed. Everything was renovated except for the main supporting posts and rafter beams. The dirt floor was leveled, and gravel was brought in to establish floors covered with rubber mats for each of the four horse stalls. The hayloft was extended, and a covered overhang was built. Learn more about this and other barn restoration projects below. 05 of 06 Making a barn a home This renovation took place on the inside. Lyn Johnson turned an old dairy barn built in the 1800s into a warm, comfortable home. See photos of the process and her unique home below. 06 of 06 A new face for an old barn Taliah Danzinger and family bought this farm about a year ago. After cleaning up the junk around the barn, they started painting, replacing the roof, and fixing the doors and haymow floors. They are also ripping out the old tie stalls and putting in wooden box stalls to use for show animals and horses. This "after" photo was taken after the first coat of paint. The neighbors said the barn hadn't seen paint in at least 20 years. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit