Convert the barn into a summer house. Country house from an old barn

The Russian dacha is a cultural phenomenon: perhaps nowhere else in the world country house do not treat it with such trepidation, do not call it affectionately ironically "estate" or even "hacienda". Per last years people no longer perceive the dacha as a warehouse for furniture that they are tired of keeping in a city apartment. A country house is often built "from scratch" and often decorated with the help of an invited specialist. But even an archaic dacha that you inherited from the Soviet era can be turned into a completely modern country house on a quite nice site. Together with landscape designers, experts from the Houzz community, we tell you how you can equip and decorate your summer house this season.

Extended holdings

If your dacha evokes not a feeling of comfort, but an old Russian melancholy, then it's time to repair the building - or even build a new one in the old place. "If speak about appearance at home, we are definitely in favor of preserving it,” says Sergey Kolchin, founder of the architectural bureau Le Atelier. “Even amateur buildings we treat as a heritage that should not be thoughtlessly sheathed with siding (exterior cladding).”

True, it is better to repair an old house according to the results of a professional examination: “Poor condition load-bearing structure often hinders the implementation of emerging ideas. In one of the latest projects, we decided to leave only the walls - to replace the floors and the roof, to make a pile foundation along the contour, ”says Kolchin.

Sometimes next to wooden dachas extensions or even new buildings grow up. Can the whole lot be built on? The Town Planning Code spells out the rule of a three-meter indent from the borders of neighbors. However, an interesting amendment gives more freedom: it is possible to build a house close to the territory of neighbors if they are not against such a planning decision.

Do-It-Yourself Cottage DIY (Do It Yourself)

In Soviet times, difficulties with building materials were solved as best they could - dachas were collected piece by piece from what was. Many interiors moved out of town from the demolished apartment buildings old low-rise buildings.

With the advent of fashion for hand-made, these architectural hybrids have found a second life: the dacha has become not only a place of rest, but also a platform for creativity, where you can endlessly redo something, paint, sew and craft.

Simple and at first glance not the most functional items are especially popular - from old architraves and balusters to barn doors, which, however, are not always used for their intended purpose.

From barbecue to dovecote

As practice shows, the “house, barn and garden” complex is only an inevitable minimum on your suburban area. Depending on the budget, the territory can be supplemented with a covered barbecue gazebo, winter garden and even a spa area - or implement even more unexpected ideas.

“One of my clients was going to build an aquarium on the site - he is interested in river fish. We have built dovecotes, stables, and dog kennels,” says Ksenia Bobrikova, founder of Xenia Design Studio. “It is important to tie these rooms stylistically with the design of the main house and, in addition, take into account many technical parameters, from lighting to ventilation.”

But if the dovecote is beyond your imagination, then a decent gazebo can become a reality even on a modest budget.

“Sometimes it makes sense to combine a gazebo and a barbecue area - however, if you expect to host large companies, consider how much space such a design will take,” notes landscape designer Elena Veselova. “With a small budget and area, a solid gazebo can be replaced with a pergola: it is much easier to build, there are ready-made modules for this, and grapes or actimidia will give it a flowering look.”

Not enough space even for a pergola? Turn a disadvantage into a romantic dignity: replace a gazebo or pergola with a swing surrounded by shrubs.

Sat on the golden porch

Decided not only to repair, but also to improve the country porch? Choose a design solution depending on the side to which it is oriented. If the porch faces the courtyard, most likely you will use it as a place to relax and decorate it in a more interior way. If he looks at the street, you will have to apply a "smart" design.

As always, annuals will help: firstly, seedlings can be bought at a construction hypermarket right on the way to the dacha, and secondly, no one has come up with anything more spectacular than flower boxes.

On the porch, you can not only meet guests, but also express yourself: it is here that numerous crafts that children love so much are appropriate. The porch is under the roof and is always in sight - in a word, an ideal place for a family exhibition and grandmother's tenderness. If you don’t mind joining the younger generation in creative impulses, paint the front door and porch pillars with moisture-resistant paints: it’s logical to emphasize this area, and Painting works- great fun for the whole family.

Cheerful farmer

Even if you are not a real farmer, gardening is a very relevant hobby, especially given the fashion for organic products. “It is important for a beginner gardener to take four steps,” says landscape designer Irina Kumskova. - First, decide on insolation: understand where the sun rises and sets, which areas are in the shade. Secondly, draw up wind patterns: northern streams can destroy southern plants. Thirdly, to determine the view areas - those that are clearly visible from the entrance, from windows and gazebos.

Fourth, to understand the functionality - to understand whether you want to plant only vegetables or herbs, or, say, set up a flower garden, and then draw up a site plan.

For those who have never dealt with garden work, it is better to start with greenery: plant salads and herbs. Of the vegetables, zucchini and cucumbers are the least whimsical - they almost do not require greenhouse conditions. Among the flowers for beginner gardeners, it is better to choose bulbs - for example, daffodils and tulips. True, Irina advises planting them in large batches so that the flowers are not lost against the background of greenery.

Boring borders with good neighbors

The fashion for a simple life is increasingly expressed in the purchase of a plot in the countryside as opposed to a horticultural plot. Whoever your neighbors are, you will definitely want to fence yourself off from them - maybe not with a three-meter fence, but at least with a lush hedge. True, it is wiser to make friends with your neighbors, if only in order not to duplicate the fence.

This is not always easy, but important: a common fence will be both cheaper and, most likely, prettier.

“If so far the budget allows only a chain-link mesh, decorate it with perennial vines or annual hops, they grow rapidly,” advises Elena Veselova. “In addition, the fence does not have to be made the same around the perimeter: the section that faces the main facade can be from a profiled sheet, and more secluded and deaf areas can be made from a mesh with lianas.”

Another way to save money is to think for the future: dig in the poles, calculating the pitch, so that over time the grid will be replaced with a wooden or stone sheet.

Crooked path leading to the house

Garden paths are not a trifle, and landscape designers do not recommend saving on them: annoying puddles will appear on a poor-quality canvas. It’s worth starting with planning: evaluate where you go often, and where is the most beautiful walking route.

Do not chase external beauty or symmetry: such schemes are not always functional, sooner or later you will start to “cut corners” on the lawn.

Stone paths combine strength and aesthetics, but on a modest budget, compromises such as granite screenings are also suitable - usually it has a pinkish-beige tint, but sometimes gray.

“Another option is concrete tiles, which you can buy or even make by hand, although in the second case they will not be so durable,” notes Elena Veselova. In any case, concrete tiles allow you to lay elements with a run-up and vary the pattern of the track.

In country design, even utility blocks can be not just a barn, but a real work of art. I bring to your attention interesting ideas utility sheds, houses for inventory and workshops. All these structures can be made to give with your own hands, decorate to your liking.

Hozbloki can be without windows to prevent easy theft of the tool if your site is located in a not very quiet place.

The wall of the shed can be decorated with painted plastic plates screwed on with self-tapping screws. At my dacha, the northern wall is decorated in this way, I painted them myself.

Your workshop may also have a small porch where you can sit and take a break from country affairs and worries.

The classic design of a cute hozblok, decorated with ampelous flowers, as well as tub and tray compositions.

The octagonal guest house can be used both as a workshop and as a utility block.

Hozblok combined with a garage. Even a shed can have a beautiful front garden with flower beds.

A stylish guest house made of foam blocks can also serve as your workshop.

Here's another one nice idea hozbloka enthusiastic summer residents. Doors, as I like, with floor-to-ceiling glazing.

A wonderful idea for a utility block combined with a guest house.

The idea of ​​imitating windows with trays of flowers will revive the plain walls of the barn.

A nice composition of a shed and a pergola with a seating area.

Classic barn in the country or private courtyard.

Still, it's nice that there are people who create beautiful landscape design solutions from ordinary, familiar buildings.

It would seem like a barn, but here is the porch, here are the flowers - and already a completely different feeling! Some joy...

If the shed is painted in light shades, then the site will immediately become more fun.

Old tools can be hung on the walls, decorating them in a rural country style.

Neat guest house, lined with shingles.

A beautiful idea for a shed in the country is a flower bed and flower trays, a stone slab path leading to the building.

high barn with shed roof and windows for light from the ceiling.

The original hozblok for storing inventory in the country.

Workshop idea for suburban area- I can assume that the artist creates his masterpieces here!

natural roof in scandinavian style- in Norway, on old houses you can find turf. Well, here the designer's idea was to plant a flowering lawn.

Some ideas are so good that they can even become the basis of a small country house, and not a hozblok.

In the photo - a completely working option for a summer house on a plot of 6 acres.

A wenge-colored shed is a stylish color solution!

A stone hozblok in an English estate is a construction for more than one century, and more than one century is ahead!

A simple idea for a shed for storing inventory in a summer cottage.

Beautiful frame shed, sheathed with plywood.

A squat hozblok is a design idea for your dacha.

The original solution is an imitation of shutters on the window.

You can make such hozbloks with your own hands in a week, thus you will find a place where you can store the tool. But do not turn the room into a pantry!

The idea of ​​​​designing an approach to outbuildings in the country.

It would also be good to provide a canopy over the door so that in the rain you can open the door without standing under falling drops of water.

An unusual solution for the entrance group made it possible to create an additional door.

A solid barn built in Western style.

The idea of ​​the hozblok is a square-shaped workshop.

The idea of ​​a hozblok with an asymmetric roof.

Hozblok with a beautiful front door on massive loops.

Unusual hozblok with walls made of wood cuts. I have already met a similar solution many times, I wonder how labor-intensive and reliable it is?

On this, let me say goodbye to you today, see you tomorrow! Stay tuned for updates, share ideas with your friends, get inspired and create unique beauty on your site!

Many people dream of their own home, but not everyone has the opportunity to buy a dream home. But everything or almost everything, if you wish, you can do it yourself.

How to make a house from improvised materials on your own?

Here we will consider the example of an American couple, of course, this is not Russia, not the same climate, not the same standard of living, but, nevertheless, a lot can be learned from the experience of our American neighbors.

Young couple from Portland (Oregon, America) were able to prove by their own example that this is possible.

They remodeled the old barn and assembled their home literally bit by bit. What did they end up with? We decided to take a look at the results of their labors!

Young enthusiasts

Small house interior

Newlyweds Michael and Jenny have long dreamed of their own house, but there was a catastrophic lack of funds to buy it. The only thing that was bought for a small amount of money was an old dilapidated barn and a small piece of land. The young people still had some money left. It was decided to spend them on restoring the house and decorating the interior.

All that is at hand

Small kitchen interior

The barn went to the couple not empty, but filled with old boxes and boards. They were used to restore and strengthen the facade of the house, as well as partial interior decoration. Interestingly, Michael and Jenny were lucky with wood, they got teak and cedar boards. This wood was also useful for creating furniture that the owners of the house made with their own hands, which made it possible to significantly save money. The other part of the interior items was purchased at flea markets and family sales.

Michael and Jenny made a lot of things in the house with their own hands

Furniture made from old boards and boxes

View of the living room from above

Adjoining territory

The equipment was bought in a junk shop

Proper storage in a small interior

Cozy zoning

Despite the fact that the area of ​​the house is only 35 square meters, zoning was well organized in it. The kitchen was separated by a bar counter. The living room was not cluttered with furniture, there is only a sofa that moved with the owners from the old interior, as well as homemade table and a stool. The second floor was completely taken under the bedroom. It turned out to be relatively spacious and well organized.

living area

Interior of a small bedroom

tiny bathroom

A tiny joint bathroom deserves special attention, in which they did not refuse standard bath. The entire space of the room was done in white. To save space, plumbing picked up non-standard sizes. This also affected the visual perception of a small interior.

Those who live in the south of our country may well do the same. By the way, the temperature in Portland can drop to -20.

Well, for us, residents of snowy regions and frosts of -40, of course, we need a barn at least on a foundation and with a stove, and old boards will not be enough for insulation, but that's not even the point, but that everything here is made by hand from waste material and only 35kv, people have created a spacious and most comfortable space, this can be done with us.

Converting an old barn into a beautiful greenhouse

Redesigning the old barn was the main task of the designer Bob Trainor. Together with his wife, he decided to create a real architectural masterpiece on the site of a dilapidated building.

Initially, the dilapidated barn was just a garbage magnet. But the couple saw in it the potential to transform into something more interesting and functional by attaching a greenhouse to it.

This is how the unremarkable barn looked before the reconstruction

Today it is home to many beautiful plants.

The new greenhouse maintains warm and humid air throughout the winter. Here you can grow fresh herbs for cooking, winter-hardy plants, prepare seedlings for planting in spring and enjoy beautiful flowers all year round.

The appearance of the greenhouse

Weathered boards and vintage garden signs are an interesting and unique design element.

It's always summer inside the greenhouse

Process long work carpenters and architects led to the creation of a charming building that is the highlight of the garden. Sliding French doors, a green tin roof with a superstructure turned the old barn into an architectural masterpiece.

The couple achieved amazing results!

Inside the renovated building there is a bright and cozy room, where there is a hot tub, books and an antique corner has been created - the pride of the owners. Here you can read, take water treatments and just enjoy the view of the beautiful garden.

Great place to stay in both winter and summer

Lamps made of terracotta pots give original lighting. The room also contains many antiques, such as the green cabinet on the right.

A French door separates the recreation room from the greenhouse

Garden view from hot tub

The window is decorated with original multi-colored stained-glass windows

The barn is always light and cozy

Inside the barn, even in winter, a wonderful oasis awaits the owners

Did you like the idea of ​​a married couple?