I live on a 6,000-acre Wyoming ranch—here’s the cozy farmhouse I designed for my family

Playing hooky is rarely an option for Taryn and Kyle Kilty. After all, they have a 6,000-acre property to tend to, along with two kids (Zoey, 11, and Lakson, 9, pictured above), a registered bull, a horse, a Bernese mountain dog, and more than 1,000 cows. “Kyle grew up here, so it’s in his blood,” says Taryn, who also comes from a family of farmers.

Kyle and Taryn Kilty pause to take in the ranch’s scenic views. “My favorite thing is morning coffee on the front porch. It’s so peaceful to watch the deer in the front paddock as the sun comes up,” Taryn says.

Given the family’s rigid ranching routine, it’s no wonder they need a cozy spot to relax and unwind. So 10 years ago, the couple decided to build a brand-new farmhouse that could handle all the comings and goings of farm life while serving up ample historic charm. (Taryn found her inspiration from an old farmhouse she’d spied in a past issue of Country Living.) Working with an architect, the Kiltys created a family-friendly indoor-outdoor floor plan that includes plenty of porch space, a third floor where the kids can roam free, and a kitchen that can host larger gatherings. “When you live in the middle of nowhere, there’s a need for connection with people,” Taryn says. “We’re always having friends over.”

In fact, the designer (@tarynkiltydesign) made sure the family’s new four-bedroom home was full of spaces where loved ones could kick up their boots. For example, in the two-story great room (below), comfortable upholstered furniture sits alongside family heirlooms and vintage finds, including an antique barbershop window from Cheyenne, Wyoming, that offers a glimpse into the upstairs laundry and craft room. “When we found it in Kyle’s great-grandfather’s barn, I knew I wanted to give it a new life,” Taryn says. Also bringing patina: a 12-foot-long seed cabinet found in Wichita, Kansas, which sits below a trio of framed potato sacks from Taryn’s family’s farm.

The thoughtful mix of old and new allows for the achievement of Taryn’s primary goal: quality family time. “During the week we’re all going in different directions. We have to drive an hour just to get to the grocery store!” she says. “So on weekends we drink coffee, eat a big breakfast, and enjoy good company. We like the slowness of a Saturday—until it looks like we have to go move some cows.”

Take a tour of the Kilty farmhouse below:

Character-Filled Walls

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Entry

Taryn unfurled a vintage rug and set the scene for a warm and unfussy welcome. She maximized texture in the hallway beyond the front door with a variety of furnishings, including an old desk, a vintage console painted the same red as the adjacent mudroom, and a set of theater chairs salvaged from an old auditorium in Indiana. “They’re practical and full of charm, especially with the collected treasures displayed above,” she says.

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Kilty Wyoming Ranch Kitchen China Cabinet

An array of elegant dishware in a glass-fronted kitchen cabinet makes for a beautiful contrast to the well-worn theater seating and old-school scores in the entry. “My mother-in-law is a collector of blue-and-white, and I’ve been so fortunate to have her pass some things down to me,” says Taryn.

Family Time

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Home Great Room Kitchen

In the great room, painted tongue-and-groove boards paired with reclaimed wood beams salvaged from an Illinois barn enhance the high ceilings. Below, a wood-burning stove brings the heat to a seating area outfitted with leather chairs, a slipcovered sofa, and a custom scalloped ottoman where the kids play chess and cribbage. Above the room you can see an antique barbershop storefront window that was stored in Kyle’s great-grandfather’s barn. “I knew I wanted to give it a new life, so we framed it into a wall that looks into our laundry and craft room,” Taryn says.

Taryn found the 12-foot-long seed cabinet in Wichita, Kansas, on a road trip to Texas. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and the kind gentleman we bought it from actually drove it all the way to Wyoming for us,” she says. Above it, a shelf made with old scaffolding hangs alongside framed potato sacks from Taryn’s family’s potato farm.

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Delft Touch

Kilty Wyoming Ranch House Kitchen

“Our kitchen is my favorite place—and it’s one of the most hardworking rooms in the house,” Taryn says. “Whether it’s an impromptu lunch for Kyle and his crew or a late-night gathering of my girlfriends, this room never slows down.” Hand-painted Delft tiles—“Each one feels like a tiny work of art,” she says—bring an element of warmth, as do the white oak cabinet and the walnut bar stools that surround the generous seven-foot-long, concrete-topped island. A pair of white oak shelves provide a pedestal for some of Taryn’s favorite ceramic finds. “I love old pottery, and it’s even better if I know the story of where it came from,” she says.

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Handmade Heirlooms

Dinner is eaten at a table made by a local woodworker that’s complemented by vintage chairs beneath a pair of fluted pendant lights. An old wall-mounted telephone Taryn’s mom found for the family is always a conversation starter, and a charming family quilt serves as a tablecloth.

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Pretty Patterns

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Powder Room Bathroom

Old meets bold in the jewel box of a bathroom where a vintage pedestal sink and mirror mix with a floral wallpaper pattern inspired by an 18th-century needlework pattern printed to look like it’s been stitched along with trim painted an elegant blue.

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Restful Retreats

Modern bedroom with wooden furniture and neutral colors.

The primary bedroom’s deep-colored walls are the perfect backdrop for the neutral bedding and the pattern play between the bold rug, upholstered bed frame, and pleated floral shades. Antique flow blue dishes and a vintage mirror accent a dresser that once belonged to Kyle’s grandparents.

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Kilty Wyoming Ranch Primary Bathroom Tub

For the spa-like primary bathroom, Taryn chose a nostalgic fabric for the café curtains and crisp white tile for the flooring. And though the views from the vintage tub are stunning, total privacy is not always assured. “It’s not uncommon to see a few curious cows just outside,” Taryn says.

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Horsing Around

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Girls Bedroom

When Taryn’s daughter Zoey asked for a more grown-up bedroom, a wildflower wallpaper inspired by antique botanical drawings and a vintage Jenny Lind bed were the natural place to start. “We had so much fun pulling colors from the paper, painting her dresser a cheerful coral pink, and adding a fun green to her desk areas,” Taryn says. A scalloped flush-mount fixture and bedside hanging pendant are both functional and fun.

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Girls Bedroom Desk

Because Zoey loves riding her horse, Oatie, the spot above her desk was the ideal space for equine-inspired mementos. “My husband’s great-grandfather owned racehorses,” Taryn says. “Every year an artist would paint the horses on the side of the barn, but first he would do a smaller painting. In this room are a few of those.” The treasured trio pops against the dramatic wallpaper.

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Pretty Practicality

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Mudroom

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Mudroom Boot Washing

Ranch life calls for a mudroom that works harder than most. So during a recent renovation, the multipurpose utility room got a much-needed overhaul. The washer and dryer were relocated to the primary suite—“We quickly learned that clean clothes and muddy boots don’t mix well,” Taryn says—and in came custom lockers, a large salvaged sink skirted with a floral stripe, and new peg rails above the dog-washing station, all surrounded by paneling drenched in a rich rusty red.

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Outdoor Retreats

Kilty Wyoming Ranch Kids in Garden

The family’s raised-bed garden is home to a mix of vegetables and herbs, all started from seed in the greenhouse. “We grow carrots, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and, of course, potatoes—I come from a family of potato farmers, so I feel like that’s just a given,” Taryn says.

Children interacting with a horse near a white barn.

Zoey is at her happiest when she’s riding her horse, Oatie.

This story first appeared in the April/May 2026 issue of Country Living. Photographs by Aaron Colussi, styling by Natalie Warady.