Creation of the barn lounge

The renovation of the 300 square meter barn room began in 2022. It was fascinating to see how the room changed every month and then slowly and roughly took on the shape and effect it was intended for.

The expansion

You often need breaks to think about your decisions and you have to let the space work on you every now and then. Overall, it turned out much brighter and clearer than we originally thought.

One should get a large kitchenette. Maybe an area to linger, meditate and an area where you can primarily work.

Initial state 2022

In the middle

The windows were opened directly on the beams...

so that interesting light and shadow plays are created.

A lot of people took part here: professionals and beginners, people who were just passing through and others who want to continue working here. All of this makes up the space. The many hands that plastered, sanded, oiled, painted and hammered here. An outside staircase leads to the terrace and garden.

Processing the walls, and replacing old beams.

Attaching, filling and painting the ceiling.

Unfortunately, waste was also an issue.

The ground is laid, time to celebrate.

Walls, floors, windows completed.

Equipment

The furnishings, partly self-made

A basic idea for using the barn was to develop it as a large common room in which people could also cook and even sleep. We had to design some of the furniture ourselves because it didn't exist in the way we needed it.

The sofa armchair beds

The idea was to design a higher firm mattress that would consist of several of these

During the day, seating areas consisting of armchairs and sofas can also be put together. The basic format of the foam blocks was 1 x 2 meters. These can be used to create complex seating landscapes, which can also be used as beds with toppers.

We sometimes used farmer's linen that is up to 200 years old as furniture covers. It has enormous strength and feels wonderful. Modern linen cannot keep up, as we discovered with a prototype.

The screens serve to temporarily enable a “me space” in the “we space”, as they say in design thinking. They are still in production as I write this blog. These can be folded out into a table with a lamp and storage space. We hope that works.

First drafts

First prototypes in cotton

Workshop with farmer's linen, foam blocks with padding.

The sofa test in the lounge

Dividers for tents and for the barn.

Our workshop in the manor house. This is also used for prototyping.

A staircase becomes a table

The thick oak wood of the outside staircase was damaged by an unexpected amoeba infestation

Structural timber can no longer be used. This resulted in a ten meter long kitchenette with a dining table.

What could the table legs look like? The angles in the half-timbering inspired us.

Assembly

Which chairs go with the table? Sixties or eighteenth century?