London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

This Grain Silo Guesthouse Is Every Country Girl's Dream

This Grain Silo Guesthouse Is Every Country Girl's Dream

Talk about creative reuse! A resourceful Texas picker creates a one-of-a-kind refuge and becomes a makeshift “tinkeeper.”

As the owner of Old World Antieks, Amy Kleinwachter spends a lot of time scouring the globe for heirloom-worthy pieces and unusual architectural salvage. But her best find to date–a 14-foot-round grain silo—came from a ranch just down the road from her La Grange, Texas, home. Having already built an entire farmhouse out of salvaged materials, she immediately envisioned the silo as a quirky guesthouse perfect for her 10 acres.

Once the silo was hauled over, Amy enlisted local contractor Judy Kurtz to help sift and pick from Amy’s vast inventory of weathered beadboard, sheet metal, and window frames. “It took a surprising amount of geometry to make things work in a circle, but Judy nailed it!” says Amy. The completed 1,000-square-foot structure now includes a front porch and a bed/bath extension, making it right-sized for family, friends, and visiting pickers alike. Says Amy: “We joke that it’s given new meaning to ‘gather ’round.’”

Living Area

An old Champagne crate is now a footrest, thanks to a grain sack-cushion topper. A pair of mismatched leather chairs and an antique bleached oak table make for an eclectic sitting area.

Office Area

Amy transformed an old floral-stand sign into a floating desk and hung additional signage throughout. When buying old signs, she advises, “Ask questions. A good dealer will know a backstory and have a clear grasp on the materials. If they’re fuzzy on that, it’s probably a fake.”

Bedroom

Old wood salvaged from a nearby historic Texas home was treated and sealed with a Varathane polyurethane sealant so guests don’t breathe in lead paint (check with your health department or contractor for information on using this technique in your area). The textured wall pairs with a wrought-iron queen-sized bed (miltonsfurniture.com) dressed in new, crisp linens (gypsyville.com). (Amy says finding a comfortable antique queen has proven next to impossible.) She found the oil still life on a European antiquing trip.

Bathroom

“This is the one thing a picker can never have too much of. When placing planks, I pay attention to paint weathering. I’m careful to do it in a way that looks organic—nothing too perfect, but nothing too random either,” she says.

Bathroom Vignette

An old phone nook gets a second life as flush-mount bathroom shelving.

Wall Decor

Amy bartered with an Etsy vendor for this liquidation sign.

Dental Panes

“It’s essentially a tin can and inherently dark,” Amy says of the silo. “I waded through my stash for window options with ample height and modest width to maximize natural light and still work within the constraints of the circular design.” She had convinced a friend to buy an old set from a dentist’s office years before and was able to buy them back for the bedroom.

Metal Awnings

"Old windows are one of my favorite things to hunt for, but metal awnings are right behind. I love how they bring depth to a design with a rugged fussiness."

Ornate Headers

"Intricately carved window and door headers are my go-to when I want to define a space or embellish without having to hang artwork," says Amy.

Front Porch

Amy Kleinwachter and a hen, an on-site alarm clock.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
×