Make Your Own Luck  Mary McGuire-Wien and her husband, Charles
Wildbank, had been searching for a new home on Long Island for
more than a year, but every place they'd seen was either
unsuitable or unaffordable. After one long Sunday of
unsuccessful house-hunting with their agent, the couple was
anxious to get back home, but got stuck at a traffic light right
next to an old barn that was under renovation. "A guy in a hard
hat looked over at us and said, 'Are you looking for a house?'"
says Mary.  Though the barn didn't look like a house—it didn't
even have any visible windows—Mary and her husband got out to
take a look. The building turned out to be loftlike, with
beautiful historical details (including back-facing windows). "A
normal family probably wouldn't want it," says Mary. "But it was
absolutely perfect for us because we needed a space where I
could have a yoga retreat, and where Charles could paint." They
agreed to buy the place from the construction worker, who turned
out to be the barn's owner.  Find