How to create Barnhouse style in the city
A new take on the traditional country house, this classic look is moving into town.
We all want a touch of that laid-back country life – there’s something appealing about the idea of sitting with our morning coffee (or evening glass of wine) on a wide verandah overlooking expanses of green. Far away from city pressures and deadlines, it’s a lifestyle that encourages work/life balance and offers a slower pace.
This may explain why more city-dwellers are embracing Barnhouse exteriors in their new homes. An emerging home design, Barnhouse is an elegant, urban take on country style, featuring an updated aesthetic usually with clean vertical lines.
It’s a design that is dramatic and minimalist, despite its traditional heritage. With such a simple shape, building materials work well if they are cohesive and sleek, and make the most of big picture windows and connection to outside spaces.
About Barnhouse Style
Barnhouse homes feature classic cladding, a symmetrical gable roofline and long, open interior spaces. Choose flat-profile roofing tiles, which offer a sleek and streamlined look and are available in a wide range of colours. Cladding can be laid vertically or horizontally, depending on preference, and often frames large windows.
A Barnhouse interior includes open-plan living spaces paired with high ceilings and exposed beams. The addition of high clerestory windows, along with floor-to-ceiling bi-fold or sliding glass doors, can flood these areas with natural light.
Vertical lines, often using vertical-joint (VJ) cladding internally and externally, add to the appearance of height and sense of space.
