Bob and Marge McKinnon, Dent, Minn., turned a dilapidated gambrel-roofed barn into a beautiful modern home. It's complete with a big window on one end where the hayloft opening used to be, an asphalt roof with two big cupolas on top of it, and a wood deck on both sides.

The McKinnon's barn home sits only 100 ft. off a lake, with large windows looking out over the lake. The house has three levels, including a 28 by 32-ft. "great room" with a loft above one end of it. One side of the room is covered with aspen paneling. There are five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

They removed everything from inside the barn except for the main support beams, tearing out the stanchions, concrete feed bunks, gutter system, and floor. They also removed the original cedar roof and galvanized tin siding.

"It turned out nice although we did put quite a bit of money into it," says Bob. "People love the barn look and came by to watch us work while I was building it. Now they drive by in boats on the lake during the summer and on snowmobiles during the winter just to get a better look at it.

"The wood used to make the barn, which was built in 1928, was cut on this property. The barn was in use until 1975. After we bought the property, we lived in a house on the property until we were ready to move into the barn. The person we hired to put on the new roof discovered during the project that it was his grandfather who had actually built the barn. Once he found that out he wanted to do a lot more, such as the major interior work.

"It's a big barn so we hired an architect to help us get the most out of the available space. My wife fought tooth and nail to keep the cupolas. There's a silo still standing on the lake side of the barn which we plan to convert into a 40-ft. high gazebo."