Shawn began to restore an old farmstead property back in 2002 and has turned it into the cozy Green Gate Guest House, which combines the charm of the old barn with energy-efficient appliances, solar heating, and sustainable, environmentally friendly design.
Located in Biwabik, Minnesota, the guest house is near the Giants Ridge Resort Area and only an hour away from the city of Duluth, BWCA, and Lake Superior’s North Shore. As its website proudly proclaims, Green Gate was designed to accommodate visitors who want to be next to everything, but away from it all! I interviewed owner and tinkerer Shawn Callahan to learn more.
Jenna Lewein: What inspired you to do this project?
Shawn Callahan: While traveling in South America and staying in a variety of unique hostels and lodges, I began thinking about how to create a similar experience back home.
Jenna: Why did you choose the location you did? Was there something about an old farm that caught your eye?
Shawn: I stumbled upon this abandoned 13 acre farmstead mostly by luck, as it wasn’t even advertised for sale. A single family had lived off the land here for almost a century, and the property has everything going for it- high ground, fields, woodlots, water access, and close proximity to Giants Ridge Recreation Area and the vast wilderness playground of northern Minnesota. Despite being surrounded by dilapidated outbuilding that first day I came here, the positive energy of the place was amazing.
Jenna: Can you describe the process by which you built Green Gate Guest House? Did you renovate parts of it at a time or did you do the entire thing before you opened up to visitors?
Shawn: With a modest budget and little practical experience, I started by tackling renovations on the original farmhouse for several years. My wife moved in in 2006, and shortly thereafter we dove into the larger project of building the guest house. The deconstruction of the original barn and construction of the “new” barn home/guest house took almost 4 years. I was fortunate to be able to work nearly full-time on the project, while Lisa supported us with her career as a trauma nurse. We began hosting friends and family when the project was far enough along, then officially opened for business in 2011.
Jenna: Did you work with any architects and contractors? If so, who were they and what did they help you with?
Shawn: I designed the structure myself, and we completed almost all of the construction ourselves with the help of friends and family at times. It was an incredible learning experience, and I feel fortunate for the opportunity (although admittedly there were many times when I wanted to toss my tool belt in the river and hire someone to finish it!). The solar heating system was something I’ve been interested in for many years- I researched it over a period of a few years, with the help of online resources such as builditsolar.com and the Simply Solar Yahoo Group (both tailored specifically to do-it-yourself projects). The system was built onsite and installed in the fall of 2010 and has been producing heat ever since.
I’ve always considered it important to take ownership and be as involved as possible in anything I work on. Not only do you learn more and save money, but it also builds self-reliance for the future from the knowledge gained. That said, I’m also ‘learning’ that it really does take a village, and collaboration on any project results in a better and more successful end product.
Jenna: What were the biggest surprises or challenges along the way?
Shawn: Chronically underestimating how long each project would take!! We wanted to break out of the cookie-cutter nature of modern home-building and create a unique, soothing, and efficient hand-crafted structure that would leave an impression on our guests. But with the construction industry mainly focused on economy, building non-traditional structures requires a great deal of initiative, research, and often good ol’ trial-and-error.
Jenna: How did you prioritize the projects? For example, did you consider energy efficiency projects more important than renewable energy projects or sustainable landscaping?
Shawn: We enrolled in LEED for Homes pilot program at the outset of the project and focused equally on their 5 categories of sustainable design- Energy efficiency, sustainable site selection, water conservation, indoor air quality, and materials and resources selection. The best designs generally carry a lot of crossover, providing benefits in multiple categories of sustainability (for example, installing our natural stone flooring instead of some imported manufactured alternative utilizes our natural resources, supports a local economy, and improves indoor air quality at the same time). Most important was to keep the guest house small and invest up front in the most energy efficient shell (passive solar orientation, triple-glazed windows, super-insulated air tight construction, etc), then choose locally-sourced and non-toxic options for the interior finish. The benefits of solar heating and other renewable energy options added later are better realized when you have a efficient building to apply them to.
Jenna: Do you have any suggestions for someone looking at doing a similar project?
Shawn: Do your homework upfront- research your options and visit/talk to as many others as you can before you begin. It’s amazing how many good ideas have already been proven, yet still have not become widely used. Drain Water Heat Recovery (DWHR), for example, has been around for decades as a simple, cost-effective way to recapture lost hot water heat from your plumbing. Yet most have never even heard of it!
Jenna: What has the reaction of your guests been when they stay at Green Gate? Is there anything in particular they get particularly excited about?
Shawn: The response has been very positive so far. It is interesting to see what leaves an impression on people, depending on their interests- one person might be enthralled with our “tree trunk” dining room table, while another wants to know exactly how many BTU’s the solar heating system produces!
Want to learn way more about the project? Visit the Green Gate Guest House website to view a slideshow of the guest house and the restoration process and learn more about how they built the solar thermal system >>
Or you can also just make a visit!
5748 County Road 138
Biwabik, MN 55708
218-290-2607
See more photos in this slideshow, all courtesy of Green Gate Guest House:
