The Barn is a new home designed by Joe Snell in Turon Gates, New South Wales for Michael and Kristine Hansen who wanted to create a sustainable sanctuary that was completely off-grid, and combined Australian craftsmanship with the simplicity of Danish design.
With their two sons - Oskar, 19, and Carl, 16 - they “were looking to combine the best from our Native Scandinavia with the best of what Australia has to offer,” explained Michael.
“Becoming one with nature is exactly what we wanted to achieve with The Barn,” Kristine added.
Situated upon an elevated hill, The Barn overlooks the stunning Carpertree Valley as well as the nationally treasured Blue Mountains. The design fully capitalises on the stunning scenery, with large windows installed at each end of the narrow 35-metre-long home as well as along the side of the house. Also, the profile of the house is quite similar to the 45-degree slope of a typical Danish rooftop.
The off grid house runs on solar power with water regularly pumped up from the nearby Turon River.
“We wanted to make an affordable and sustainable house. To make it rustic yet homely. To make it Danish yet Australian,” says Kristine.
Taking inspiration from the humble barn, the couple chose Havwoods’ reproduction reclaimed timber flooring in Dryden, not only on the flooring but also for the feature walls and sliding doors to each room.
“We loved the idea of using Havwoods for the floors and as feature walls and sliding doors to each room. We think that your product fits perfectly with our vision to showcase clever solutions,” Kristine said.
“Now that it is finished, it’s really nice to be together and do the things we want, like going for long walks and just talking to each other more. We don’t have a TV; at night we just listen to music. There is something different about the time up here, it really slows you down.”
Photographer: Kristine Lindbjerg
