This Bank Barn Renovation in Phoenixville Embraces Rustic Touches

Photos by Jason Sandy / Angle Eye Photography

With help from Janiczek Homes and architect Anthony Miksitz, the bank barn received an artistic transformation.

Eight years ago, painter and potter Deb Lawrence moved to historic Phoenixville, attracted by a burgeoning art community and a climate that allows her to enjoy the changing of the seasons without being battered by harsh winters. “I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it’s often gray and cloudy, and then lived in Shaker Heights, near Cleveland, where the cold blows in from Lake Erie,” she says. “I visited Philadelphia and thought the people and the weather in the area were both lovely.”

Her current and much-cherished home is a circa-1745 Chester County farmhouse on a three-acre property bordering a 60-acre preserve. The bonus is a two-story bank barn, also built in the 1700s. Lawrence envisioned the barn as a spacious art studio that doubles as a guest house when her young-adult offspring visits.

The bank barn’s previous resident was a horse. To transform the dark structure into a light-drenched studio and living space suitable for people, Lawrence turned to Mark Janiczek, founder of Janiczek Homes. She appreciates Janiczek’s interactive spirit and willingness to work with the local historic review board. Philadelphia architect Anthony Miksitz came up with a plan that preserves the barn’s heritage while accommodating its new purpose. Lawrence took on the role of interior designer in what became a blissful working relationship. “Mark and Tony allowed me to work collaboratively with them in designing a space that feels soulful and unique,” she says.

Natural light floods in through expansive commercial storefront windows on the front and back of the barn.

She approached her studio as a work of art, combining handmade and vintage elements with salvaged and new pieces. Call it rustic meets industrial. The striking white subway tiles in the kitchen and bath were individually crafted by members of an artists’ collaborative in Mexico. Charcoal grout highlights each tile’s imperfections. It’s what Lawrence refers to as “the beauty of blemishes.” “I’m a tile snob. As an artist, I didn’t want something that looked manufactured,” she says.

The long, trough-like kitchen sink was salvaged from a photographer’s darkroom. The trio of pierced brass pendant lights over the long table once hung in a mid-century hotel. Lawrence found them at Provenance, an architectural salvage center in Philadelphia. She refinished the raised-panel wood bathroom door herself. “I fell in love with it,” she says. “I purposely left a little bit of the white paint on it to show its past.”

The striking white subway tiles in the kitchen and bath were individually crafted by members of an artists’ collaborative in Mexico. Charcoal grout highlights each tile’s imperfections.

The jamb was custom-built to accommodate the door, which was outfitted with vintage hardware. The 1960s sconces that hang above the bathroom sink were discovered on eBay.

With its exposed support beams and soaring ceilings, Lawrence’s studio pays homage to the structure’s original function. Natural light floods in through expansive commercial storefront windows on the front and back of the barn. Six skylights are framed in barnwood.

Bringing the barn into the 21st century required new plumbing and electrical systems and tapping into municipal water and sewer systems. HVAC ducts are exposed to add to the industrial vibe. Two sleeping lofts accommodate overnight guests.

Lawrence frequently hosts arts groups and community organizations in the barn, where an open floor plan facilitates gatherings. She enjoys cooking there with the tomatoes, herbs and Japanese eggplants she grows in the garden between the barn and the farmhouse. “When I look back on this project, there isn’t one thing I would’ve done differently,” she says. “There isn’t a day that goes by that my heart doesn’t fill with joy when I walk into my studio.”

Janiczek Homes
619 Conestoga Road, Villanova, (484) 580-8104

Anthony Miksitz
(215) 519-9076