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Modern Barn House Built Into a Hillside Meadow

By Simona Ganea | Published on

This curious-looking house is surrounded by a beautiful hillside meadow and gets to enjoy uninterrupted views of its surroundings. It’s a project created by studios Birdseye and Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture and it finds inspiration in the local farmhouses. We should mention that the house is located in rural Vermont where it’s typical for structures to be built into the hills that surround them. With that in mind, the architects came up with a barn house design that takes advantage of the sloping land in a really cool way.

The house is three levels tall with the lowest one being integrated into the hillsideView in gallery
The house is three levels tall with the lowest one being integrated into the hillside
The basement volume is only visible from certain angles, being hidden beneath the soilView in gallery
The basement volume is only visible from certain angles, being hidden beneath the soil
A set of wide stairs goes down with the slope and looks surprisingly organic in this contextView in gallery
A set of wide stairs goes down with the slope and looks surprisingly organic in this context

The wood cladding and expansive glass surfaces in combination with the gable roof give the house an eclectic look with both rustic and modern influences. To achieve a similar style inside, the designers used a minimalist palette of materials and colors such as exposed steel, plaster, concrete with wood accents. The living spaces are situated on the ground floor and extend outside onto a deck. The outdoor areas include a hot tub built into the deck and a fire pit with cozy seating around it. The bedrooms are situated upstairs where the best views are but the house also has an additional level which is below the main floor and digs into the hillside. This is where the garage and a few service areas can be found.

The living spaces are positioned in the middle, between the garage and the bedroomsView in gallery
The living spaces are positioned in the middle, between the garage and the bedrooms
The middle floor is framed with full height windows and glass doorsView in gallery
The middle floor is framed with full height windows and glass doors
The living areas extend onto a wooden deck which is in turn connected to a fire pit areaView in gallery
The living areas extend onto a wooden deck which is in turn connected to a fire pit area
The house takes inspiration from local farm structures which are typically built into the hillsView in gallery
The house takes inspiration from local farm structures which are typically built into the hills
The entrance offers a peak inside the house and is sheltered by a wooden overhangView in gallery
The entrance offers a peak inside the house and is sheltered by a wooden overhang
Although the colors are very simple and neutral, the interior design is very welcomingView in gallery
Although the colors are very simple and neutral, the interior design is very welcoming
The kitchen, living room and dining are are all connected into a large open volumeView in gallery
The kitchen, living room and dining are are all connected into a large open volume
The staircase which connects all the floors sits at the venter of the house and has a very sculptural designView in gallery
The staircase which connects all the floors sits at the venter of the house and has a very sculptural design
The bedrooms take advantage of their placement and frame the beautiful and uninterrupted views of the meadowView in gallery
The bedrooms take advantage of their placement and frame the beautiful and uninterrupted views of the meadow