30 Rustic Barn-Style House Ideas & Photos to Inspire You
Pitched ceilings, rustic beams, and exposed wood are all hallmarks of a barn-style house. Today’s barn homes incorporate such traditional elements but also add modern touches, like a monochromatic white palette or sleek fixtures. And some otherwise contemporary spaces add country-inspired flair, such as repurposed barn doors, for a rustic-chic feel. We scoured the archives of Architectural Digest to find our favorite barn-style houses that provide an escape from the chaos of modern life. Explore 30 of these stylishly rustic houses, from an airy retreat by India Mahdavi in Connecticut to a modern take on the classic form by architect Mark Rios in Santa Monica, California. If you aren't already living in the countryside, these rustic barn-style homes just might persuade you to pack up.
Photo: Jason Schmidt1/30A White-Washed Pool House
A barn serves as the poolhouse at a Connecticut home decorated by India Mahdavi; the dining table and benches are by Piet Hein Eek.
Photo: Jason Schmidt2/30An Airy Dining Room
In the same home, the double-height formal dining area, also in a former barn, is furnished with chairs designed by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son and a custom-made table by India Mahdavi.
Photo: Jason Schmidt3/30A Restored Space for Entertaining
One of the 150-acre property’s outbuildings was restored and turned into the games barn.
Photo: Richard Powers4/30A Modern Barn in Santa Monica
For a Santa Monica, California, home renovation, architect Mark Rios pared the existing structure down to simple barn-inspired forms and clad the exterior in cedar, which he stained gray to complement the slate roof.
Related: The Ultimate Summer House Guide: Beautiful Beach Houses, Country Homes, and More
Photo: Richard Powers5/30A Contemporary Living Space
In the same home, triangular chairs by Rick Owens face the living room fireplace, which features a surround of chiseled limestone; the painting at right is by Richard Prince, and the carpet is by Woven Accents.
Photo: Scott Frances6/30A Clever Barn Conversion
“They are modernists who have ended up living in old structures,” interior designer S. Russell Groves says of a hedge-fund manager and his wife, who asked him to reimagine the interiors of a 19th-century barn that had been moved from Canada to Connecticut and subsequently converted into a 15-room house.
Photo: Scott Frances7/30A Dining Space Designed with Natural Materials
“There was a lot of texture already present here,” Groves says of the dining room at the renovated Connecticut barn. “So we chose a very simple table and chairs—wood themselves, in order to relate to the surroundings—and a customized chandelier.” A flagstone fireplace topped with wood cabinets anchors the space.
Photo: Scott Frances8/30A Pastoral Poolside Setting
Groves also laid out the landscaping around the pool. The architecture of the barn "relates to the landscape and the surrounding structures," says the husband, but the interiors "make it a modern house with the charm, feeling, and materials of something that's older."
Photo: William Waldron9/30A Mix of Old and New
Vincent Herbert, CEO of Le Pain Quotidien, and his wife, Laurence Verbeke, enlisted architect Francis D’Haene of D’Apostrophe Design to renovate their weekend house in Remsenburg, New York. Much of its exterior was replaced with siding salvaged from a 200-year-old Canadian barn.
Photo: William Waldron10/30A Bright and Airy Living Space
At the Herbert-Verbeke residence, Dinesen wide-plank Douglas-fir floorboards complement the pristine architecture; the lamp is by BDDW.
Photo: Bilyana Dimitrova11/30A Reinvented Barn Designed for Fun
On his 128-acre upstate New York property, which was formerly a dairy farm, architect Dean Marchetto rehabilitated an existing barn (it now serves as a play space for his sons) and added a separate ten-room, 4,000-square-foot weekend house for the family.
Photo: Scott Frances12/30A Historic Barn Revived
An 1895 barn in Wilton, Connecticut, was restored and expanded by architect David Ling for art collectors Rhonda Brown and Tom Grotta. Ling “reused the barn vernacular but with a modernist sensibility” for the addition.
Photo: Timothy Hursley13/30A Bold Twist on the Classic Barn
Architect Margaret McCurry of Tigerman McCurry designed this Lake Michigan getaway. “It’s a modern interpretation of the farm structures that populate this region of Michigan,” the architect explains. The exterior is clad in red-painted tongue-and-groove cedar siding and topped with a metal standing-seam roof.
Photo: Timothy Hursley14/30A Living Room Where Rustic Meets Modern
In contrast with the surrounding wooded landscape, absolute symmetry rules in the white-walled, double-height living room, from the placement of the windows to the positioning of the furniture. The cocktail table is from Ligne Roset.
Photo: Billy Cunningham15/30A Wood-Lined Dining Room
Wood beams and paneling line the dining room of an old carriage house turned expansive main residence at Mount Brilliant Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The architect was Elby S. Martin, and the interior designer was Mona Hajj.
Photo: Billy Cunningham16/30A Terrace with Year-Round Potential
To maximize views of a nearby lake at Mount Brilliant Farm, Martin created an enclosed terrace with a glass roof that suffuses the space with sunlight; the interior design is by Mona Hajj.
Photo: William Waldron17/30A Family-Friendly Upstate Barn
Architecture firm Bonetti/Kozerski Studio renovated a New Paltz, New York, barn into a three-bedroom summer residence for Los Angeles–based filmmaker Shawn Levy and his family. Birch, willow, and Norway maple trees surround the stucco house.
Photo: William Waldron18/30A Rustic and Casual Dining Area
Bonetti/Kozerski Studio designed the wood-paneled dining area’s light fixtures, 14-foot-long table, and leather-padded banquette; the aluminum chairs are from Design Within Reach.
Photo: Scott Frances19/30A Barn-Style Home with Stunning Surroundings
A field house in upstate New York was conceived, in a collaborative effort, by architect Paul F. Shurtleff and landscape architect Douglas Reed. The lawn, terraced by a stone wall, echoes the divisions of the building’s living and pool areas.
Photo: Scott Frances20/30A Soaring Entrance Hall
In the Brown-Grotta entrance hall are, from left, a tapestry by Mariette Rousseau-Vermette and works by Debra Sachs and Christine Joy.
Photo: Matt Wargo21/30A Pennsylvania Barn Opens Up
Designers Penny Drue Baird and Irwin Weiner teamed together to transform a 19th-century barn in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, into a 4,000-square-foot space for entertaining guests. Boards from the interior replaced crumbling ones on the exterior, and expansive windows were added. John Morgan Thomas was the landscape architect.
Photo: Matt Wargo22/30A Living Room That Blends Rustic and Traditional Style
A living area occupies one end of the open main floor of the revamped Bucks County barn. The wing chair fabric is by Cowtan & Tout, and the stool is from Yale R. Burge Antiques.
Photo: Mary E. Nichols23/30A New Home With Reclaimed Elements
For his retreat in Carpinteria, California, film director Joel Schumacher wanted a rustic look with modern comforts. He called on architect Don Nulty, who created a new residence that incorporated reclaimed barn wood.
Photo: Mary E. Nichols24/30A Bedroom with Southwestern Flair
African beaded kings’ and queens’ armchairs flank the entrance to Schumacher’s bedroom. “The Beacon blankets and Native American rugs are from everywhere,” he recalls. “I’ve been collecting them from flea markets, swap meets, and the like since 1971.”
Photo: Billy Cunningham25/30A Poolhouse with Country Charm
Designed by architect Gil Schafer, a Connecticut poolhouse takes the shape of a sophisticated barn with stone walls and weathered plank shutters; the custom-made windows are by Reilly Windows & Doors. The landscape design is by Deborah Nevins.
Photo: Billy Cunningham26/30A Nature-Infused Sitting Area
At the Connecticut poolhouse, which was decorated by John Cottrell, a large ficus tree gives the great room a forestlike air; the stone planter is from La Maison Française Antiques. Landscape studies from Dennis & Leen are displayed on the far wall; the iron sconces are by Formations, and the upholstery fabrics are by Pindler & Pindler.
Photo: John M. Hall27/30A Farmhouse That Breaks With Tradition
For a renovated barn that serves as the Roxbury, Connecticut, retreat of a South American diplomat and his wife, AD100 designer Juan Montoya eschewed traditional white trim. “I had the trim of this one painted barn-red, because I didn’t want anything to detract from the cleanliness and purity of the composition,” he says.
Photo: John M. Hall28/30A Bathroom That Feels Like a Rustic Retreat
At the Connecticut property, Montoya laid out the bath with X-motif cabinetry. The tub and sink fittings are by Waterworks.
Photo: Scott Frances29/30A Living Room with Bucolic Bones
In a Hamptons compound designed by Christoff:Finio Architecture, the living room occupies a former barn; the space is furnished with midcentury armchairs from Dienst & Dotter Antikviteter, a sectional sofa and ottoman by Zanotta, and vintage Navajo rugs.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn30/30A Barn-Style Bathroom
Barn-style doors lead to the guest bath in an Atlanta home by Suzanne Kasler, where RH mirrors flank a sconce from Circa Lighting.
