A family of four, a 700-square-foot barn, and a bowling lane table

Image 1 of 16

By Barbara Thornburg<br>
<br>
Where many see junk, Corey Gash envisions design possibilities. The window display artist convinced his family to leave its comfortable, two-bedroom town house in Orange last year for a run-down barn in Costa Mesa that once housed chickens and, later, a boat-building operation.<br>
<br>
"The first time I saw it, I thought it was an amazing space with great bones. I'd always wanted to live in a barn," says Gash, who has fond childhood memories of feeding the chickens during summer vacations at his aunt's farm in Colorado.
Partner Krista Wallace wasn't quite as enthusiastic. "At first I thought, 'No way. I couldn't live there,' " she says. "The place was a shambles -- filled with old wood and spiders. There wasn't a bathroom -- just an outdoor shower -- and I had just found out that I was pregnant."<br>
<br>
Now, repurposed materials and furnishings give the remodeled 700-square-foot home a loft-like openness and a soulful style. Here, the entrance wall is composed of wood reclaimed from a church roof.

( Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times )

By Barbara Thornburg

Where many see junk, Corey Gash envisions design possibilities. The window display artist convinced his family to leave its comfortable, two-bedroom town house in Orange last year for a run-down barn in Costa Mesa that once housed chickens and, later, a boat-building operation.

"The first time I saw it, I thought it was an amazing space with great bones. I'd always wanted to live in a barn," says Gash, who has fond childhood memories of feeding the chickens during summer vacations at his aunt's farm in Colorado. Partner Krista Wallace wasn't quite as enthusiastic. "At first I thought, 'No way. I couldn't live there,' " she says. "The place was a shambles -- filled with old wood and spiders. There wasn't a bathroom -- just an outdoor shower -- and I had just found out that I was pregnant."

Now, repurposed materials and furnishings give the remodeled 700-square-foot home a loft-like openness and a soulful style. Here, the entrance wall is composed of wood reclaimed from a church roof.

Comments are filtered for language and registration is required. The Times makes no guarantee of comments' factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link next to a comment. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.