RAVENSWOOD FARM

Location: Bedminister, N.J.
Builder: King Construction

This high-end horse barn has so much to offer. Ravens Wood Farm’s courtyard-style stable has 28 King Loddon European stalls, four wash/grooms stalls, tack rooms, office, lounge, grain rooms, laundry, bathrooms, and a full loft. It has high ceilings for good cross ventilation and Dutch doors in all the stalls. The stunningly finished lounge area features an indoor fireplace, full kitchen, sparkling chandeliers, and French doors that lead to the courtyard. The stable’s exterior is faced with stone while cedar shingles cover gable ends and the remainder of the building.

The facility also has a large, 90- by 228-foot indoor arena with laminated wood columns and rafters and a dust-free riding surface. The exterior has dormers, and large windows for more natural light and ventilation.
The complex also has a four-bay, fully finished, wood-interior equipment garage with a workshop and loft storage above that can easily be converted to living quarters.

Since this facility has many users, the design goal was functionality and ventilation. Because Ravens Wood is so large, deciding where to place things such as the tack room, feed room, and wash stalls required careful planning to ensure optimum flow and efficiency of barn functions. One of the major benefits of a courtyard-style barn is that it can stable a large number of horses on a fairly compact footprint, which saves staff time and labor. Having two wings can be an ideal arrangement to maintain two separate spaces. The support areas, such as tack rooms, wash stalls, and grain rooms can be duplicated. The safety and comfort of the horses is always the first consideration, so Dutch doors with windows were used for more natural light and extra ventilation.

As a bonus, this beautiful building also houses a climate-controlled wine cellar and a second-floor wine-tasting room and lounge.