Originally used as a stable before a conversion into accommodation by the previous owner, The Barn is a secondary structure on a homestead property 10 minutes south of Berry, NSW. Our clients, who we’d worked with previously, wanted to create a self-contained guest house for family and friends, with a full kitchen and laundry, dining, living, bathroom, additional WC, and storage.

 

Behind the original barn doors and weatherboard-clad exterior, an inviting and expansive interior opens up. Using a series of design strategies, the interior achieves a sense of airy spaciousness – despite containing a suite of hardworking spaces within the relatively small structure.

 

To counteract the low ceiling height, a large void was inserted to draw the eye upwards upon entry, emphasising the double height from ground level to the top of the pitched ceiling. Though the external structure of the barn remains intact, additional internal windows were inserted that open onto the void, creating new sightlines and dynamic spatial relationships between the floors that extends the sense of openness. The void is aligned to existing trusses, and informed the positioning of a new central spiral staircase that accesses the two bedrooms above, which sleep up to 8 people.

 

Joinery, furniture and lighting frame and connect interior spaces and extend sightlines upward and outward. Whilst staying true to the barn typology by celebrating its original features, the revised interior planning and treatment realises the true potential of the space.