You won’t find hay or livestock in the barns shown here. Instead they are outfitted with high-tech TVs, pool tables, catering kitchens, and whatever else the owners might need for some serious entertaining.
Loft Lounge To accommodate his son’s racing motorcycles as well as a full-size motorcoach with trailer, the owner of a California vineyard needed a barn of a building. With roof trusses that span 64 feet, this barn had more than enough space to insert a 1,200-square-foot party loft in the rafters. “The truss webs have all their pressure points pushed to the side,” says architect Daniel Townsend, “which enabled us to use that roof space.” Those custom steel connectors were painted an appropriate barn red. Rustic exterior finishes of stone and slate fit the vineyard setting, but Townsend convinced the owners that a sleek interior would enhance the building’s racy character. Douglas fir walls and ceiling add a touch of tradition, but ½-inch gaps between each plank create a contemporary shadow line. Two full baths and a fully loaded kitchen keep party necessities under one giant roof. Builder: BlackRidge Estates/Mark McConville, Pleasanton, Calif.; Architect: Fuse Architects, Capitola, Calif.; Framing contractor: PMA Contractors, Almaden, Calif.; Photographer: Frank Tapia.
Wood Indeed As his two sons grew, architect and homeowner Duo Dickinson wanted them to have their own rooms, and it seemed safer to have a space at home that could be party central for the teenage boys and their friends. The resulting backyard barn of fun also fulfills Dickinson’s dream “to have a porch large enough to have a sit-down dinner for 20 or 30 people.” A 350-square-foot screened porch with 26-foot-tall ceilings does the trick for those dinner parties, while the interior includes a guest suite, game room, gym, and kitchen. Dickinson’s self-proclaimed wood fetish resulted in 32 species of wood—almost all reclaimed or reused—as barn structure and finishes. Builder: Bensonwood Homes, Walpole, N.H.; Architect: Duo Dickinson Architect, Madison, Conn.; Millwork contractor: Tim Mills, New Haven, Conn. Photographer: Duo Dickinson.
Raised Anew The owners of this Virginia acreage haven’t finished their house yet, but they’ve already hosted several soirees in this renovated barn. They didn’t want to tear the dilapidated-but-picturesque structure down. Instead it was reassembled with SIPs panels on the exterior, the original wood walls and tin ceiling inside, and a spectacular wall of solid glass on one gable end. Modern luxuries such as a flat-panel TV, surround sound, radiant floor heating, and a copper soaking tub are subtly integrated into the old timbers, while the rebuilt corn crib shelters the patio adjacent to a catering kitchen. “When you drive up the road you just see this old barn that’s been restored,” says builder Richard Ellis, “but when you walk in the door you are struck by that glass wall and the 300 acres of rolling hills beyond.” Builder: Gerachis Construction Group, Leesburg, Va.; Architect: Blackburn Architects, Washington, D.C.; Interior designer: Leopard Interiors, Norfolk, Va.; Photographer: Maxwell MacKenzie.
