Around the World in Seven Barns
From a 200-year-old horse stable in Tasmania to a poolside stone retreat in Italy, these Airbnb homes are the perfect places to get a taste of pastoral paradise.
Introduction by Valerie Rains
Few buildings have the power to reliably (and literally) stop people in their tracks — to demand a pause at the threshold, a gathering of breath, and a long, awed look around. Centuries-old churches come to mind, along with even-more-ancient temples and newly minted monuments, our great communal gathering spaces, purpose-built to evoke just that kind of emotional response.
And then there are barns.
Chalk it up to the drama of their dimensions — that luxury of space and height — and the tactility of their raw materials, the sensory stimulation of those old-wood smells. Barns sit nobly at the intersection of cathedral and cabin, grandeur and groundedness. And in some elemental way, that combination can be uniquely transcendent.
“People pull over in front of our house all the time to ask about our barn,” says Naomi Lindberg, a photo producer in South Salem, New York. She moved there with her family from New York City four years ago after finding an 1850s farmhouse and its McIntosh-red companion barn — a salvage job the previous owner, a restoration carpenter, had hauled in pieces from nearby Wilton, Connecticut, and reconstructed on the property. “We joke that we bought the barn and the house was sort of an afterthought — which is not entirely untrue,” Lindberg says.
The timber-frame treasure acts mostly as a modest but functional workspace, but it has also supplied so much more. It’s a site for dreamy, string-light-draped birthday parties. It can be a “grown-up clubhouse,” as Lindberg puts it, for warm summer Fridays, when music blasts through the open double-hung windows and the barn’s handmade wood swings are put to use. The barn is even an occasional community gathering space, when a casual potluck takes on the dimensions of a bona fide block party, church social, or, well, barn raising. “Having this barn has allowed us to be able to make a real bond with a bunch of local families that maybe we wouldn’t have otherwise — because we couldn’t have them all over to our house for dinner at once,” she says.
“Guests have told us they ‘loved every brick.’ We’ve even had some who offered to buy the place from us.”
— Elizabeth Walsh, Superhost
Lindberg and her family are not alone in their attraction to these agricultural artifacts. “There’s definitely been an increase in demand for barn restorations in recent years,” says Mark Johnson, founder of Artisan Restoration in Kasota, Minnesota, who completed his first barn-to-home conversion in 1976 and has overseen dozens more in the decades since. One impetus is the preservation aspect: “Keeping all that material out of the landfill and giving it a new life saves not only our natural resources, but a bit of our history as well,” Johnson says. Another? Pure emotion. “The simple feeling you get from being inside a century-old space. For me, it’s almost like a time machine.”
As modern life increasingly unfolds online, barns are becoming both a symbol of and a haven for a return to the unplugged life, and even diehard urbanites are finding resonance in rusticity — or at least the idea of it. Farmhouse-inspired interiors are going strong, according to an April 2019 Zillow report in which for-sale homes with “barn doors” in the listing sold in eight fewer days than the average. The DIY Network series Barnwood Builders, an ode to the art of salvaging, is now in its eighth season. (The draw: a chance to daydream about your own rural renovations without actually decamping for greener pastures.)
For travelers seeking an antidote to an always-on digital existence, a barn stay offers the slowed-down lifestyle and, with it, a return to the types of old-school activities that prompt IRL interaction. While creative director Boo Simms of Long Beach, California, was enchanted by the barn getaway she organized with friends last winter — “the wood floors, the potbelly stove, the cozy nooks and reading corners” — the decor was just the starting point, and togetherness was the true prize. “All six of us played card games and charades, and someone was always cooking because the barn had the most darling little kitchen,” Simms says. “The layout was very open, so energy flowed nicely throughout the whole space. The wood creaks, and the house makes sounds, but in a good way. It all just felt so comforting.”
Despite their off-the-beaten-path locations, barn-home options are readily available for bookings. All kinds are open to overnighters, from historic barns, silos, and granaries that are beautifully renovated to newer structures with a barn-inspired style. Whether you’re in search of a tranquil setting, a sprawling space to connect with family and friends, or just the opportunity to be lulled to sleep by cricket song (and the occasional creaking wall), a barn stay is an easy way to get a taste of pastoral paradise.
Stone Sanctuary
Location: Whitekirk, Scotland
Superhost + Home: Gillian Cameron
Photographs: Rahel Weiss
Gillian and Phil Cameron’s Tithe Barn was built in the 1500s from stones of an abandoned 13th-century hostel; before its closing, it had been used to shelter pilgrims who traveled to the countryside of East Lothian to take the waters of a holy well on the grounds of a nearby church. When the couple purchased the home in 2015, its proximity to both the beach and the city of Edinburgh was certainly a selling point, but the property’s storied past may have had an even stronger pull. “I was thinking, wouldn’t it be amazing to live somewhere beautifully renovated that comes with so much history?” says Gillian.
The two styled the interior with an elevated yet resource- ful approach. “We love a modern industrial look mixed with the warmth of hygge,” Gillian says. “Phil makes furniture, so he designed and crafted the bed and nightstands from scaffolding poles and wood.” There’s a vegetable garden on the grounds and “breathtaking views of the sea,” according to the Superhost — plus the option for some true local flavor. “If guests choose the Scottish breakfast, we’ll serve eggs, bacon, sausage, haggis, and more in our old-world dining room accessed through the home’s original 16th-century stone stairs.”
“Our goal is to give guests a warm atmosphere and modern comforts, with a little taste of Scottish history.”
— Gillian Cameron, Superhost
Low-Key Retreat
Location: Heathcote, Victoria, Australia
Superhost + Plus Home: Jacob Stammers
Styling: Kate Austin
Photographs: Derek Henderson
“‘Barefoot luxury’ is how we envisioned this place,” host Jacob Stammers says of the formerly abandoned barn he and his partner, Brad Mclennan, bought in 2016 as a gut renovation project. Now, with a shabby-chic, antiques-filled interior that’s painted white floor to ceiling — plus big barn doors that open up to a lush landscape viewable from bed — the Airbnb Plus home easily lives up to that description. Fruit trees (apple, fig, apricot), earthy succulents, and fragrant pines comprise the grounds, but the best part? The dozens of kangaroos that hop by daily. “It’s incredible to see them passing by in the morning as you sip your coffee,” says Stammers. During the day, guests traverse Heathcote-Graytown National Park, making their way to the Pink Cliffs, a geological reserve formed during gold-mining activities in the 1880s. Afternoons are best spent browsing the boutiques and galleries in nearby Bendigo and exploring the countryside’s top-notch vineyards, according to Stammers, whose favorites include Silver Spoon Estate and Tahbilk Winery. “We have a vintage wood fireplace in the barn, so people will come back, put some logs on, and nestle in with a good red and a cheese platter,” says the Superhost. “We wanted this to be a place where guests could experience something uniquely Australian and feel completely relaxed.”
“This is a place where you wake up to the sounds of birds chirping and trees whistling in the breeze.”
— Jacob Stammers, Superhost
Airy Abode
Location: Germantown, New York
Host + Home: Gun Nowak
Styling: Katja Greef
Photographs: Brian W. Ferry
Leave it to a cosmetics executive to know exactly how to accentuate natural beauty — even when it comes to an old red barn. “It was falling apart, so we restored it completely, and I wanted to put in really big windows facing the mountains,” FACE Stockholm founder Gun Nowak says of her 1900s Airbnb home in Germantown, New York, which formerly housed horses. “The contractor said it was impossible, and I said, ‘Well, you have to — otherwise it won’t be as beautiful as I want it to be!’” She got the windows, and with them floor-to-ceiling views of the Catskills. Inside, rooms are furnished with warm woods and antique pieces, many in a whitewashed or patinaed finish. “I like things a little worn in my home, just like in our stores,” says Nowak. Guests tend to stay on site — strolling the property, swimming in the pond, or soaking in the pedestal tub — but there’s also a slew of stylish shops and restaurants in town. “It makes me laugh to see how trendy Germantown has become,” says the host. “Ten years ago there was only a gas station, and now it feels more like Brooklyn than Brooklyn does.”
“You look out onto a big field and a pond, with magnolia, cherry, and apple trees all around, and you feel transported.”
— Gun Nowak, Host
Coastal Getaway
Location: Bastorf, Germany
Host + Home: Antje Limper-Huber
Minutes from the popular Baltic Sea beaches and bustling markets and boutiques of Kühlungsborn lies this 1905 barn on a serene, fruit tree- and flower-filled property. “When we were looking for a holiday house 25 years ago, we were wanting to help our [then 5-year-old] son, Max, get to know the country life, and this setting has an almost therapeutic calmness,” says host Antje Limper-Huber. “The biggest worry you’ll have here is if you’ll be able to ignite the barbecue!” she jokes. A trained architect, Limper-Huber wasn’t deterred by the barn’s rundown state when she and her husband, Bernd Huber, first found it. “Our idea was to renovate the house without killing its original charm,” she says. This entailed a bit of elbow grease — repairing floors, turning fake windows into real ones, transforming a smoking chamber into a bathroom — and even some artistic measures: “We had a carpenter process the new ceiling beams with smoke so they looked like they had always been there.” The overall interior style stayed intact (“So you can feel that once upon a time, horses and cows resided here”), and many original elements were preserved — most notably, the exterior’s big wooden barn doors, says Limper-Huber. “Only now they lead to bedrooms instead of the pigsty.”
Painterly Escape
Location: Red Hook, New York
Superhosts + Home: Gregg and Molly Salisbury
Styling: Katja Greef
Photographs: Brian W. Ferry
When artist Gregg Salisbury and his wife, Molly, a children’s librarian, bought their home in upstate New York, Molly didn’t exactly consider the on-site barn a bonus. “I was like, ‘Oh, shoot, there’s a barn in the back, so we can’t use the yard,’” she says. That’s because the wooden structure, built in 1930 and likely used to house livestock, was in disrepair, “with pigeons flying in and out of holes in the siding,” says Gregg. With two daughters to raise (Sophie, now 14, and Isolde, now 10), the couple needed additional income, so they hatched the idea to convert the barn into an Airbnb home. Gregg took the lead — which meant taking his time. “I drove everyone crazy as I slowly sourced practically everything from eBay, Craigslist, and local auctions. Even towel racks and ceiling beams!” he says. Two years later, the barn was a warm and welcoming space with a high-style interior full of bespoke touches (antique sconces, artisan-made curtain rods, stained-glass windows). “We’ve had people say it looks like it was made by an artist, so they were honored to stay here,” says Molly, who admits that’s a result of Gregg’s painstaking process. “He didn’t just throw it up with a cookie-cutter niceness. Now there’s something very special about it.”
Minimalist Dwelling
Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Superhosts + Home: Elizabeth Walsh and Alex Nielsen
Architects Elizabeth Walsh and Alex Nielsen had so much respect for the construction of the nearly 200-year-old horse stable they bought in 2012 that they wouldn’t even hang a single piece of art as they converted it into a home. “The sandstone and brick walls are incredibly romantic, so we didn’t want to detract from them by adding anything,” says Walsh. And though they also kept the timber shingled roof and even the scratchings on the original double-entry wooden door, the couple wasn’t averse to adding modern features. They put in sleek skylights, a waterfall shower, and a minimalist staircase that appears to “hover over the floor.” To maximize every inch of the home’s 667-square-foot space, the Superhosts installed a big glass pivot door. “It opens to the courtyard, which becomes another sitting room in the summer. It’s pretty magical,” says Walsh. A short walk to local shops and eateries and the ferry that travels to the Museum of Old and New Art, the retreat draws all types of travelers and even wedding parties, she adds. “People love the feeling of being in a sanctuary that’s so close to the heart and energy of the city.”
“This space was packed with character. Where others saw challenges, we saw possibilities.”
— Elizabeth Walsh, Superhost
Hillside Hideaway
Location: Presicce, Italy
Superhost + Home: Federico Ruggeri
Photographs: Danilo Scarpati
Guests at this restored 14th-century barn find a juxtaposition of the rustic and the refined: One minute, they could be sleeping in a donkey stall turned bedroom, and the next, swimming in the outdoor pool or sitting down to a chef-prepared, Salento-style meal of fresh pasta with mussels. Contrasts also abound in the interior and exterior, with sleek white sinks and clean-lined cabinetry alongside weathered wood furniture. And while it’s minutes from the Ionian Sea and its beaches, the home’s own scenic grounds are ideal for wandering, too. “If you want to find frogs, snakes, wolves, and even hedgehogs, there’s everything here in the woods,” says Superhost Federico Ruggeri. It’s the type of place that compels you to linger, adds his father, Salomone Romano, who owns the property. “When we were renovating the home and the construction workers were done for the day, they would sit on stones near the house and hang out. One day I asked them, ‘Excuse me: Don’t you want to leave?’ And they told me no, because there’s a sunset that comes through right in front of the house, and the light does this amazing dance.”
“Guests comment on how relaxing it is here. I want them to feel what I feel. It’s a very satisfying life.”
— Salomone Romano
About the author: Joy is a veteran magazine writer, educator and administrator in higher education. She is currently developing a STEM-based children’s book series with her husband and 5-year-old son.
