By Jim Patrico
Progressive Farmer Contributor
Dave Geise’s friends tease him: That shiny new farm shop he recently built is not really a shop, they say, it’s a ?shouse.? Or, maybe it’s a ?barndominium.? Whatever they call the structure, Geise is proud of it. ?It’s a dream come true,? he said of the 127 feet-by-60 feet Morton building that seamlessly marries the utility of a shop with the comforts of a house.
On the shop side, Geise’s ?shouse? contains two service and storage bays for equipment, and a mezzanine for smaller storage. On the house side, it contains a kitchen, dining room, entertainment space, a corner office with big windows and — maybe most importantly — a wrap-around porch that offers awe-inspiring views of Iowa’s rolling Loess Hills.
All of this sits about 100 yards from the Geise’s four-bedroom house outside of Logan, Iowa.
Why build a ?shouse? when you have a house so close?
