On an Architect’s Bucket List
I love old barns and’ve always wanted to renovate and reside in one. Doing so is among those things on the architect’s bucket list.
So whenever I encounter an old barn at the landscape, I start to dream of making it all mine. A place in the center of a rolling field with streams and forests nearby. A place to enjoy the simple country life.
The very thought of a barn evokes the picture of a community coming together to build something. As some were raising wood walls and roofing, some were preparing a wonderful home-cooked meal, and all of the while children were playing nearby. A barn raising was as much about a demand for community as it had been the demand for the barn.
So as I look at these renovated barns I can’t help but be envious of the men and women who have to reside in these terrific structures.
Blackburn Architects, PC
Barns are all about simple, large shapes and are all the better when painted vivid red. With large doors which slide right and left, a barn, such as Noah’s Ark, is a welcome area of refuge.
Blackburn Architects, PC
Like a giant lantern, this barn excels at night, illuminating the fields and beckoning all to come around.
Blackburn Architects, PC
Interior living spaces at a barn are large, too. The scale of this room matches the scale of the fields and streams outside.
Blackburn Architects, PC
A barn’s rock base and base roots into the land so that it becomes an essential component of the landscape.
Birdseye Design
A large, strong and simple type set on a rock base: all features of an old barn. But instead than being painted red to stick out from the open field, the outside of the barn is left raw and weathered to blend with the surrounding trees.
Birdseye Design
And also this barn has an inside which gives us that feeling of this handmade, the crafted. Rough-hewn posts and beams make up the structure while floors and cabinetry are all filled with character.
Specht Architects
And what is a barn with no companion silo? The barn, all relaxed and horizontal while the silo, all vertical and on guard, are like Venus and Mars, Yin and Yang, peanut butter and jelly — contrasting constructions which complement each other.
Specht Architects
Even though a remodeled barn’s interior is usually huge and spacious, it does not have to be all rough wood and classic styling. Polished surfaces and modern, machine-age substances can complement a barn’s inherent rustic attributes.
Specht Architects
Of course, some salvaged wood flooring in a ground tone may soften up all of those shiny, modern surfaces.
RTA Studio Residential Architects
It’s great that people still build barns and they still look they way they need to.
Atelier 292 Architect inc..
Barns apply a strong design influence. Stone base, simple shape, simple roof and bright red are all hallmarks of the standard barn.
More:
Browse more photos of barn design
Houzz Tour: Mini Mobile Modern Farmhouse