Houzz Tours
My Houzz: New York Farmhouse With a Western Feel
Fourteen acres, 30 animals and 2 owners who love country style make for one happily traditional farmhouse
Rolling green hills, traditional farmhouse buildings and a menagerie of animals combine with Native American artifacts and Texas style around this unique and heartwarming home in New York, called Godfather Ranch.
After her husband passed away, New York transplant Arlene Wyant left her Texas ranch to move back home with her son, her mother and 25 farm animals in tow. After an exhaustive search, this traditional farmhouse in Clinton Corners, New York, was found, offering 14 acres for all of her furry friends to roam. Now Arlene and her new husband, George, have plenty of space for themselves and their animals.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Arlene and George Wyant
Location: Clinton Corners, New York
Size: 4,500 square feet; 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
That’s interesting: Godfather Ranch is home to 7 horses, 4 goats, 5 donkeys, 9 cows, 2 barn cats, 1 house cat, 2 dogs, 2 parakeets, fish and ducks.
After her husband passed away, New York transplant Arlene Wyant left her Texas ranch to move back home with her son, her mother and 25 farm animals in tow. After an exhaustive search, this traditional farmhouse in Clinton Corners, New York, was found, offering 14 acres for all of her furry friends to roam. Now Arlene and her new husband, George, have plenty of space for themselves and their animals.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Arlene and George Wyant
Location: Clinton Corners, New York
Size: 4,500 square feet; 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms
That’s interesting: Godfather Ranch is home to 7 horses, 4 goats, 5 donkeys, 9 cows, 2 barn cats, 1 house cat, 2 dogs, 2 parakeets, fish and ducks.
The barn on the property houses seven horses — five regular and two miniature ones — and four goats at night. The upstairs room holds hundreds of bales of hay. Surrounding the front of the barn is a fenced-in area where the animals roam throughout the day.
A charming gazebo matches the barn in color and provides a place to sit and look at the surrounding cow pastures and rolling hills.
"All five of the donkeys have big personalities," says Arlene. "They sometimes move their food buckets from one end of their area to the other." The donkeys also double as noisy alarms. When visitors drive up the driveway, they cause a ruckus and Arlene knows right away that someone's approaching the house.
This beautiful horse, named Dakota, is 9 years old.
This beautiful horse, named Dakota, is 9 years old.
Kokomo, one of two miniature horses, isn't the least bit camera shy. Arlene's granddaughter loves these miniature horses, and Arlene often hitches a small saddle on for her to ride one.
The sunroom is Arlene's favorite room in the house. The peaceful screened-in space is sandwiched between the dining area, the outside porch and the pool area.
Opposite the seating area in the sunroom is a hot tub with a view of the rolling hills. A set of doors next to the hot tub leads into the master bedroom.
The luxurious bed in the master bedroom is an ornate walnut wood piece that Arlene purchased when she lived in Georgia.
A corner table displays candles and a meaningful cloth from Arlene and George's wedding. A large, traditional wooden cabinet neatly organizes Arlene's jewelry.
A corner table displays candles and a meaningful cloth from Arlene and George's wedding. A large, traditional wooden cabinet neatly organizes Arlene's jewelry.
George, who is part Native American, dedicated the upstairs loft area to showcasing his collection of Native American artifacts. This collection includes numerous figurines, rifles, stone arrowheads, ceramics, blankets and this rug.
This upstairs table setup shows more of George's Native American artifacts, including this tablecloth and the ceramics.
The sky windows in the loft area highlight this breathtaking view. They look out onto the cow pastures and to another farm across the hills. In the fall, the trees become a wonderland of reds, oranges and yellows.
Downstairs, Arlene's antique hutch showcases valued china and glassware in the formal dining room. With the exception of the upstairs loft area, all of the rooms in the home have the same knotty cedar wood walls.
Arlene wasn't shy in using vertical space in the kitchen to display her collection of baskets, pots and pans, and decorative plates. The antique scale is one of her favorite collected pieces.
In the future, Arlene wants to remodel the kitchen by painting the cabinets a mossy green color and adding granite countertops.
In the future, Arlene wants to remodel the kitchen by painting the cabinets a mossy green color and adding granite countertops.
An open floor plan leads from the kitchen straight to an informal eating area and out to the sunroom. A red table accents the cedar walls, and the glass doors are usually kept open.
A view of the exterior shows continued use of stone on the outside as well as the back porch that leads into the sunroom.
Houzz call: Share your cozy farmhouse with us and it could be featured on Houzz!
Houzz call: Share your cozy farmhouse with us and it could be featured on Houzz!
Arlene and her late husband wanted to name their ranch in Texas something unique. Inspired by the movie The Godfather, Arlene's son's Godfather Landscapes business and the godfathers in their life, they decided it was the perfect moniker for their new home. The name stuck when Arlene moved back to the Northeast, even though most of these homes are typically called farms.