Tour of a 400-Year-Old Barn in Normandy, France

Take a video tour of our 400-year-old barn in Normandy, France. Explore the old living quarters, stalls and barn loft, and see all the unique features.

[@ruthrobathan77]

The downstairs room with the huge fireplace could have been a smithy. The fireplace upstairs would have been a continuation of the downstairs one. I would imagine that the upstairs was added after the smithy stopped being used.

[@aquaangelina7270]

The barn id convert into a stay apartment for someone or couple that would like to get away and it would be a money maker for you

[@magilan7]

Quelle magnifique propriété! En Normandie l'usage voulait que l'on produise son propre cidre. Il doit donc y avoir une "cour plantée" de pommiers bien entendu, un pressoir et un cellier. Avez vous repéré cela ? To produce your own cider would be a nice occupation for a real return to the roots. Bon courage et merci pour vos vidéos.

[@ErinHuffstetler]

Merci, Magilan7. You're right: we have an old cider press in our cellar. We also have a small orchard on the property, but sadly the only remaining apple tree was destroyed in a storm last fall. I will be planting more. Bonne journée et merci d'avoir regardé.

[@kiciwi]

definitely looks like pig Stys to me, and the first room was probably used to store and prepare/cook the grub for the animals pigs where often fed boiled potatoes among other things. That loft had the hay and or straw stored for the winter. What seems to be windows were build in for air flow as well as being used for defense purposes during the many many wars in Europe throughout the centuries

[@HomesteadInFrance]

What a lovely property, lots of things to explore. With the old barn it always feels like going back in time, a piece of history. 😀

[@alisonschooley5459]

Been following you for years. I’m so excited to see your new adventures. We recently bought an older home to us, so love discovering everything (spring here is awesome for this gardener, the plants are amazing and I love reviving them). How do you keep your spirits up and prioritize what projects you do?

[@ErinHuffstetler]

Hi Alison, I give top priority to projects that need to be done to prevent further damage/avoid future problems. So, if there are roof issues, clogged gutters, drainage problems, etc. those are the things that we tackle first. That's not the exciting stuff, but it's the most important stuff. After that, I tend to look for projects that I can tackle for little or no money. The previous owners of our house left a lot of stuff behind, so I've been finding ways to repurpose things. It's a fun challenge and allows me to make progress without spending a bunch of money. It also gives us time to get used to the house and see what works for us and doesn't. I think it's a mistake to make big changes before you do this. Things you think you'll hate end up becoming things you love and vice versa. I picked a few garden projects that I want to work on this year, so those are my main focus. This keeps me from trying to do everything at once, but also gives me some variety. So, if I'm not feeling one project at the moment, I can work on another one. That's definitely part of how I keep my spirits up. I'm a big planner, so even though I'm concentrating on a few projects, I have a good overall picture of what I want to accomplish with the house and garden. This allows me to keep my eye out for deals on things that we will need to complete all the different projects. Shopping ahead saves us a ton of money, but also keeps me excited about the progress that we're making. It's really easy to fall into the trap of focusing on what you can't afford to do yet, but when you're making incremental progress across all your projects, it's easier to stay positive and to know you'll accomplish what you're working towards. That incremental progress is the difference between someone who says, "someday I'm going to ..." and someone who actually makes something happen. While we brought a shipping container of stuff with us, we also sold a lot of things when we moved. I went into this new adventure saying that I was just going to take my time furnishing and fixing up the house when we found the right thing/could afford to. If I find myself wishing everything was done, I just remind myself of this. We managed to pull off all the steps that went into moving to France, the rest will come together with time.

[@alisonschooley5459]

@@ErinHuffstetler Wow a very well thought out answer and it helps me to get it. Thank you

[@PaulaakaPaben]

Possible An Iron works or Blacksmith area with that big Fireplace?

[@ErinHuffstetler]

Oh, that's an interesting thought.

[@shirleygraham6229]

Thanks for the tour. You have a large house by the look of it. Is there much to fix inside?

[@ErinHuffstetler]

Hi Shirley, the house is in good repair (good roof, modern wiring, etc.) and the former owners did a good job of renovating the house, without messing up the historical features. At some point, I would like to update the kitchen and make some small tweaks to the bathrooms. But overall, it's a matter of cosmetic updates and furnishing. The garden is the big project. It's currently overgrown and overrun with invasives. I'm looking forward to creating the garden that the house deserves :)

[@sandys9377]

That is very nice! Cool piece of history. Thank you for sharing

[@Msmmmason2]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

[@zeddez1005]

Those are not windows. Those holes in the stones look more like what you'd use to point an arrow or a gun. What do you know about the original use of this building??

[@ErinHuffstetler]

Yeah, I definitely think they were multi-purpose -- to let in light, to provide air flow and to defend the property.

[@leesorensen3077]

That is not a barn, if there is no farm/barn cat