Barn Homes

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12 Bar-Raising Barns

Homeowners make hay out of renovated, reclaimed and newly raised outbuildings

Becky Harris February 24, 2016

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected." I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More

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There’s something so special about hanging out in a barn. We’ve toured quite a few on Houzz, converted into full-time homes, guesthouses, pool houses, yoga rooms, kitchen additions, vacation homes, workspaces and more. They are quite an architectural mix, from former stables in England that had to remain looking exactly the same on the exterior to energy-efficient facades that are held up by antique barn frames in the States. Take a peek and see if a barn as living space is for you, or if you’d rather leave it for the cows, tractors, hay and horses.

Paul Kelley Architecture

1. Namaste in Napa Valley. The original barn in this spot was rotted beyond repair, so architect Paul Kelley designed a new one with a similar roofline to sit on the same footprint. The barn serves as an annex to the main house and includes a library, home office, yoga studio and dining space for large holiday meals with friends and family.

Paul Kelley Architecture

Inside, Kelley used materials from the original barn to cover the new structure that was required to meet code. He also used the original corrugated ceiling on the interior. A warm dining area provides space for large gatherings, with views out to the beautiful landscape.

Paul Kelley Architecture

Here is the cozy office-library.

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Northworks Architects + Planners

2. Raised twice in Michigan. This special barn was raised twice, first when it was originally built, and second when it was lifted up during renovations by Northworks Architects and Planners to create a lower level with a surprise.

Two large openings filled with steel-framed glass walls hint that there’s something special going on in this barn. The designers kept the original silo to maintain the vernacular rural feel.

Northworks Architects + Planners

The special surprise: Lifting up the barn allowed the designers to add this amazing indoor pool on the ground level.

Northworks Architects + Planners

The dining space occupies the middle of a wide-open plan, with the living room on one side and the kitchen on the other.

Extra barn fun: The large “Wholesale” sign fits the scale and defines the kitchen space.

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Arturo Palombo Architecture

3. Poolside fun in New Jersey. At this home, on a subdivided former large farm, a giant dilapidated barn was given new life as a pool house and garage. Architect Arturo Palombo, with the help of Amish craftsmen, reused the original post-and-beam structure to rebuild the barn at an appropriate scale for the current property.

Arturo Palombo Architecture

Inside, light walls, furniture and floor coverings let the posts and beams stand out in all their glory. “We wanted it to have a historic look without being a cliché,” Palombo says. The designers at Papyrus Home Design mixed farm-spun details like hand-scraped floors with more modern touches, like a mosaic glass backsplash and recycled-glass countertops.

Arturo Palombo Architecture

Extra barn fun: Chicken wire chairs add a cheeky touch.

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Mandeville Canyon Designs

4. A place for family time in New Hampshire. Interior designer Renee Carman, her husband and their four children loved the small, cozy rooms in their 1850s farmhouse, but wanted a place where they could all gather comfortably. Not wanting to open up the original rooms, they looked to the adjacent barn.

Mandeville Canyon Designs

Using the barn gave them the luxury of a proper entryway, where they could shed their winter gear. Antique corbels paired with reclaimed wood shelves, and rock knobs attached to half-sawn branches gave them a good shelf-and-hook system for organizing.

Mandeville Canyon Designs

Inside, a roomy family room gives them space to lounge and watch a movie, while a table is their spot for one of their favorite activities — game night.

Extra barn fun: At the back of the room you can spy part of a special clock they composed from reproduction Farmall alarm clocks.

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Authenticity, LLC

5. A passive country home in Nebraska. Two brothers had this new barn built to resemble a historic barn on the property where they grew up. While architect Michelle Penn of Authenticity looked to the past for the structure, she looked to the future for its function. There is a precipitation-harvesting greywater system, and the barn has passive-house technologies for heating and cooling.

Authenticity, LLC

While the barn is not 100 percent passive, its energy efficiency comes close. A tight envelope, top-of-the-line insulation, low-E windows and a cooling system that uses the harvested rainwater tanks as a thermal mass keep energy costs low. Supplemental heat comes from a geothermal radiant floor system. There is no forced-air system, ducting, furnace or air conditioning in the house.

Authenticity, LLC

For cooling, the architect utilized a chimney effect — the hot air rises and escapes via a cupola.

Extra barn fun: The cupola space is accessible and offers great views across the bucolic Nebraska landscape.

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Studio Carver Architects, Inc.

6. Glowing on a ranch in Santa Ynez, California. There is no air conditioning required in this new barn either, thanks to passive cooling techniques employed by architect Robert Carver and his team. Translucent fiberglass Kalwall panels let in the light and make the barn glow at night.

Studio Carver Architects, Inc.

Inside, there is a soaring open space on the first floor, as well as children’s bedrooms. The kitchen, dining room, living room and master suite are upstairs on the loft level.

Studio Carver Architects, Inc.

The team used many recycled materials on the inside, including a reclaimed 100-year-old timber frame, reclaimed wood floors and concrete containing fly ash.

Extra barn fun: These unique kitchen drawers are made of old wooden boxes.

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Theresa Fine

7. A mountaintop perch in Vermont. The property surrounding this converted barn and views from it had Kevin and Nadia Dole strapping on snowshoes to see it the moment it went on the market.

Theresa Fine

They can see mountain ranges in four states from their property: Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York.

Theresa Fine

The Doles kept the furnishings no-fuss, using lots of soft white slipcovers and interesting textures to complement the beautiful original beams and rafters.

Extra barn fun: Thanks to the barn’s generous proportions, finding wall space for this 12-foot-long pomegranate painting was no sweat.

Oil painting: Charles St., by John Young

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KELLY + CO DESIGN

8. Rocking out in a Connecticut stable. Jerry Garcia watches over this barn in Connecticut, which was converted into a space for band practice and performing. A big part of the renovation was soundproofing; in between the exterior siding and the reclaimed barn boards, there are acoustic panels that absorb the sound.

KELLY + CO DESIGN

The sofas can be moved out of the way for dancing, while friends, family and fans can sidle up to the bar for a drink. The loft space includes another viewing area and a series of Murphy beds for crashing out after long jam sessions.

KELLY + CO DESIGN

Extra barn fun: Over the mantel, a grille from a 1954 Divco milk truck is even more eye-catching when its headlights are on.

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Kate Johns Designs

9. A new kitchen in New York. Architect Kate Johns and Berkshire Barns relocated and rebuilt a 1790s barn frame, adding it on the left side of their clients’ existing home.

Kate Johns Designs

They removed the hayloft so that the dramatic vaulted ceiling would have a full view of the rafters. A mix of modern and traditional styles strikes an easy balance in the large space.

Kate Johns Designs

Extra barn fun: The original hayloft ladder adds an interesting architectural element in the middle of the kitchen. It serves as a reminder of the structure’s history.

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kimberly peck architect

10. Old meets new in the Catskills. While a 19th-century barn’s timber frame provides the structure for this barn, new structural insulation panels (SIPs), hydronic radiant heating, an air exchanger and fiberglass windows make it an energy-efficient second home for a New York City couple. The barn was designed by architect Kimberly Peck.

kimberly peck architect

The bedroom is a spartan yet warm and cozy space.

kimberly peck architect

More barn fun: Reclaimed barn wood adds warmth to the modern space. All of the reclaimed materials are from Heritage Barns.

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Rendall & Wright

11. A brightened-up English dairy. When renovating this historic dairy in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, interior designer Lindsey Rendall had to jump through many historic-preservation hoops. While the interior was to be modernized, the outside needed to be carefully restored. She enlisted a team of expert local craftspeople who understood local materials and techniques to help her complete the job.

Rendall & Wright

Soft green, grays and ivory create a serene environment inside. There’s a cozy loft too.

Rendall & Wright

More barn fun: Rendall wanted to get every detail just right. She had blacksmith Jim Lawrence create the door handles and hinges.

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AR Design Studio Ltd

12. Out with the horses, in with the guests. The double-glazed windows on these formal stables in Hampshire, England, were once entrances into stable bays.

AR Design Studio Ltd

Architect Andy Ramus made the most of the original stable doors and stalls while reorganizing the stables into a welcoming home more suited to people.