Transforming an old barn into a modern home

A young family has had an old agricultural building converted into a unique home with a design by “bauzeit!”, a Darmstadt building and planning firm.

The family of three’s residential barn in the Brandenburg district of Teltow-Fläming, not far from Berlin, is part of a three-sided courtyard previously used for agricultural purposes, which was probably built around 1910. Impressively, the clients achieved their goal of taking and preserving existing structures without imitating the old style, creating a completely new and modern home during the course of the extensive renovation.

Interior design with a rustic modern charm

Since the structure of the building was very well preserved, it was possible to use the old wooden beams as the basic framework for the rooms. The entire interior construction was completed with studding, both as a shell for the outer walls as well as ceilings and interior walls. In the middle part of the residential barn, all of the beams remain exposed, giving the whole house a rustic, homely and cosy charm.

Complementing the old beams, oak is also the predominant wood used for doors, floors and the steps of the open staircase. A clinker brick wall in the kitchen underscores the rustic feel of the building. The heart of the house is the stunning living room at nine metres in height, which is extremely bright and open thanks in part to a skylight.

Window frames disappear in the clinker brick facade

With the grey wooden window frames visually disappearing behind the clinker brick facade, the red brickwork fully comes into its own. The lintels are all plastered in grey and are to be combined with matching exterior window sills.

A real eye-catcher is the over four-metre high barn door which is made of dark wood and features floor-to-ceiling windows in the middle. Another highlight is a tiny segmental arch window that stands out from the rest of the linear and clean-cut windows. The roof is covered with grey aluminium in double standing seam that matches the grey of the windows.

Acoustic panels as a design element

Inside the extraordinary house with its large gable wall, Troldtekt acoustic panels in black and natural wood ensure optimal acoustics and also serve as a design element of the residential barn. Contrasting beautifully with the brown beams and floors as well as the light walls, they also match the grey window frames and metal railings perfectly.