A Self-Designed Scandi Barn Masterpiece

A love of architecture and design inspired Naomi and husband Nick to build their dream home for their three teenage children, and extended family menagerie that includes dog Daisy, four chooks, and one hermit crab.

“We decided to build as we have always wanted to design our own home from scratch, we love architecture, interior design, and landscape design,” said Naomi. “We wanted to achieve a light-filled, low-maintenance home through a design that will suit us when the kids get older and move out, but still spacious enough to have them and their friends around.”

Naomi and Nick were inspired by their love of Scandinavian design with a hint of Japanese design including light, white spaces, and lots of glass with strong architectural lines, that lend themselves perfectly to lightweight construction. Scandinavian style is characterised by the minimalist philosophy that encourages simplicity and creating a strong relationship between the design elements and nature. Barn style homes are loved for their vaulted ceilings, open plan living spaces and bold street presence.

Discovering Hardie™ Exterior Cladding

Naomi had no previous knowledge of exterior cladding types, but with this impending project, she learnt about Hardie™ products through seeing them used on projects featured on Instagram and Facebook, and handling the products at Bunnings. “When designing our home, we used a mood board with images of Hardie™ products along with colour samples and inspirational images from Pinterest,” said Naomi.

With the timber look playing a major role in this style of design, Naomi’s project features Axon™ Cladding on the majority of the exterior of the house, as well as one internal feature wall in their lounge room. HardieDeck™ has been used for all of the home’s external decking areas and stairs. Axon™ Cladding and HardieDeck™ were decided on as they helped Naomi and Nick achieve the modern uniform clean look they were after. Both products provide high durability and are low maintenance, which was one of the main objectives with the build.

Design, Build, Enjoy.

Naomi and Nick worked on the house design, interior design, and landscaping design as they had a clear vision of what they wanted for the end result, and a draftsperson formalised their final design before submission. Naomi pursued the Scandi/Japanese look but also wanted to include muted colours that throw shadows from the landscape and sun at different times of the day. “We love modern but also want it homely and a place of relaxation and peace,” said Naomi. “I felt like it was crucial to have cohesive interior and exterior design, the two of these designs needed to marry to get an end result that is not only practical but aesthetically pleasing.”

Local builders DKM Builders worked on the project along with Evergreen Garden & Landscape Solutions, to bring their design to life. “Duncan and his team from DKM Builders were brilliant to work with, the boys took the time to understand our design and project and were very particular with a perfect finish and making sure the finer details were spot on.”

The build took around nine months, mostly involving local trades which gave everyone a sense of pride in what they have created within the community. “The communication between the trades and ourselves was really great and that’s what makes a build enjoyable and a lot less stressful.”

“We love the clean lines of the Hardie™ products. Their durability and the fact that they can handle dark colours means the house will look great for years to come,” said Naomi, who absolutely loves the final result and how the home looks. “It’s practical yet beautiful and homely, an amazing space to spend family time together and the next stages of our lives.” For those wanting to build or renovate, Naomi suggests doing plenty of research and discovering what amazing products are available. With so many options, choosing the materials which will be sure to get the style and look you are after is a challenging but rewarding task. Their dream home ended up being an easy choice for James Hardie’s January Share, Inspire & Win incentive.