Barn Living Rooms

The beams! The light! The ceiling heights! Explore the allure of barn living rooms. O Wow indeed.

The point of a barn living room is big space. That can be a challenge to decorate since those prized wood pillars and beams don’t always have ideal placements. Supports can create odd wall spaces and pose problems for lighting. With wonderful double height windows, light and sun control can be an issue. And since heat rises, a modern barn may not be ultra cozy. Yet barns well redone are comfortable, spacious and welcoming. One of my favorites is a Long Island house [top] where the idea of half-timber and stucco are worked in with double-height windows. An old brick fireplace adds warmth and a snug place to gather during the winter. With a sofa flanked by a pair of antique daybeds, there is ample space for sitting or lounging. And by not pulling furnishings too close to the hearth, someone even could flop down in front with a floor pillow. I also like the way the wide-plank nailed pine floor is left mostly uncovered. Plus the dining table makes this living room great and multifunctional. The way single large rooms are used can be hard to organize but the casual arrangement of things under this pitched roof is clear.

In a Connecticut barn living room, New York designer S. Russell Groves made things rather formal. Using a large neutral carpet to help define the living room space (and unapologetically covering the glossy wide-plank pine floor) there is city quality here — something Groves is known for. The living room space looks decidedly public  and created for entertaining— lounging is adjacent. The architecture of the room, with a lower ceiling on the more end, helps with the definition. And how about the mid-century to modern look for the furniture in a barn? It works, of course. But the same pieces and layout could be moved to a skyscraper and look great there, too. This is, decidedly an “urban barn” — without much of a nod to the country.

Here in the Hudson Valley, old barns are prized. I’ve just watched the rebuilding of an old barn by one of the neighbors who has painted the house fire engine red with white trim. His has a red truck, too. I’ve not been nosy parker but I have a mind to ask if I can stick my head in and look around the next time I drive by. The building was a wreck and I’d love to see what was done.

I also have a mind to hunt down this house, another converted barn in my zip code. The oak beams are original and were stripped of the stucco that covered them up. I’m surprised to see a stone floor near garden doors leading outside but perhaps the house isn’t used much during the winter. Midway between formal and casual, the Restoration Hardware Kensington tufted leather sofa anchors the living room which is simply furnished with an oversized ottoman and table plus a pair of chairs. Again, the beams frame and define the living space for an unbeatable combination of natural wood and nature viewed through the large doors and windows — an invitingly simple solution for those of use who are besotted by barns.

(Source: Brown Harris Stevens, AD)

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