BYOB: Build Your Own Barn
A couple creates their dream home in East Fallowfield Township
For Sarah and Ron Bronson, it all started with a red barn.
This goes back 22 years, when the pair married at West Chester’s Snug Hollow Farm Bed & Breakfast and held their reception in a red barn. From that day forward, Sarah and Ron dreamed of living in a barn someday.
For about a decade, the couple looked for the perfect property. Both Henderson High School grads — “We started dating before I could drive,” Sarah said — they wanted to stay in Chester County. Just as they were about to give up that part of their dream, they discovered 30 acres of undeveloped land in East Fallowfield Township.
At first, it seemed impossible. “Sarah said, ‘What do we need 30 acres for?’” Ron recalled. “She didn’t talk to me for two days.”
Then, the plan came together. They’d sell their rental property in Downingtown along with a 10-acre parcel of the East Fallowfield property, and they’d do much of the work themselves. After four years of hoping, planning, hard work and perseverance, the Bronsons built their dream home: a red barn.
Building a Barn
After purchasing the property for their dream home in 2016, Sarah and Ron got to work. They began cleaning up the land, camping there in a tent on weekends, while saving up money — the Bronsons funded the build primarily through a home equity loan, with no additional construction loan.
The couple had a general idea of what they wanted — a red barn, four dormers in the front and back, covered porches. Ron drew up the floor plan, and they handed the reins to Mark C. Meyers Architects, based in Downingtown. After two years of preparation, they were ready to build.

Aided by Sarah’s experience in real estate and Ron’s as a contractor, the couple decided to be their own general contractors, collecting bids and coordinating local subcontractors, such as Lancaster County Cupolas for custom cupolas atop the house and garage.
Sarah estimated they did about 40% of the home building themselves — or, as Ron put it, “most everything after the drywall.” This included laying hardwood floors, installing tile and backsplashes, hanging doors and installing trim. Sarah painted all the interior trim herself, including high dormer trim that required scaffolding. Outside, Sarah and Ron built their mahogany deck and planted privacy trees, plus decorative trees and shrubs — they’ve planted over 180 trees and counting. “We put money where we felt it was necessary and got creative where we could to save money,” the couple explained.
Sarah and Ron spent about 14 months building their home, while both still worked full time. They came to the property to work on the house before and after heading off to their day jobs and every weekend, when they’d sleep on an air mattress on the floor of the ongoing construction.
Their new home was almost finished when the pandemic hit in 2020. “The kitchen was being built, and the cabinets were being installed when the shutdown occurred,” Sarah remembered. Fortunately, their cabinetmaker, Bird-in-Hand’s Stoltzfoos Home Improvement, was able to finish the job after a few weeks’ delay.
Though most stores were closed, they were able to get furniture custom-built by Amish artisans. All in all, Ron estimated the pandemic set the project back only about a month. “We were so lucky that our timing was right at the tail end.”
The most challenging part, Sarah and Ron agreed, was selling their previous home at the onset of the pandemic during that unsettled real estate market. The first contract for their Downingtown rancher fell through, so the couple made some improvements and put it back on the market. Then, after hosting a virtual open house on Zoom, a bidding war ensued.
“It turned out our biggest challenge was also our biggest piece of luck,” Ron reflected.
Personal Touches
Come up the winding driveway, past the black pole barn garage built by Heritage Post Frame and arrive at the Bronson’s front porch. In front of the main entrance, a compass stamped into the concrete points true north. Then, step inside a home tailor-made by and for Sarah and Ron, where personal touches and thoughtful details abound.
Enter into a large, open-concept living space, framed by asymmetrical wooden beams resembling a converted barn. A thermostat-controlled gas fireplace, corner bistro seating and reclaimed barn wood accents lend a sense of coziness.
Behind the living area is a rustic-inspired kitchen complete with a farmhouse sink, tile rooster above the stove and custom range hood that Sarah designed. Anchoring the otherwise white kitchen is a royal blue island, in memory of Ron’s grandmother who, as she was aging, mistakenly remembered the couple having a blue kitchen.
To the left of the living space is Sarah’s favorite part of the house: her corner office. Framed by sliding barn doors, the focal point of the room is an upcycled desk that makes good use of leftover barn wood.
Continue on to a guest suite with another sliding door, allowing family and guests extra privacy. Then find the primary suite, full of details for easy living — washer and dryer in the closet, heated floors, under-cabinet lights in the bathroom, and outlets in vanity drawers for a hairdryer and appliances.
Glass doors in the primary bedroom and living space lead to the covered back deck, looking out over 20 acres of grounds and down into what Sarah and Ron call “the valley” — a tree-lined area hearkening back to their days of camping on their new property.
Now the space boasts a firepit, picnic tables, a hammock and Adirondack chairs, plus walking trails laid by Ron. “This place is our sanctuary,” said Sarah. “We feel like it’s our home and vacation home in one place.”
After two decades of dreaming, saving, planning and building, Sarah and Ron created the home they’ve wanted since their wedding day. At long last, they have their own red barn.
Our Favorite Resources
- Adorn Goods
- Albed Rug Company
- Archer & Buchanan
- B&D Builders
- Ball & Ball
- Beechdale Woodworks
- Berk Hathaway Country Prop
- Berk Hathaway Holly Gross
- Berk Hathaway Missy Schwartz
- Chester Cty Day House Tour
- Cullen Construction
- Dayton Lock
- Dewson Construction
- Dorchester Architectural
- DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen
- E.C. Trethewey
- Gillespie Contracting
- Greenbank Construction
- Harrison Hill 55+ Community
- Hazley Builders
- John Milner Architects
- John Toates Arch & Design
- Ken’s Gardens
- King Construction
- Kurtz Collection
- L&L Restoration & Stone
- Main Street Cabinet Co.
- Martin Furniture & Mattress
- Matlack Florist
- McComsey Builders
- Merchant of Menace
- Monument/Sotheby’s Int’l
- Mostardi Nursery
- Period Architecture
- Precise Buildings, LLC
- Renewal Dynamics
- Rittenhouse Builders
- Sheller Energy
- Shreiner Tree Care
- Somethings Unique
- Vintage Millwork
- Waterbury Kitchens
- White Horse Construction