Interior ideas

Barndominium interior ideas: what the inside of a barndo can look like

By BarndoVista · Updated Oct 10, 2026 · 8 min read

Code and load notes here are general. Confirm your requirements with your local building department and a licensed engineer. See the design disclaimer.

Inside, most barndominiums center on one great room that holds the living area, dining area and kitchen, often under a vaulted ceiling with exposed trusses or beams. Around it sit a primary suite set apart from the other bedrooms, a laundry or mudroom, and sometimes a loft, an office or a door into the shop. Wood ceilings, a stone or steel fireplace and wood, stone and polished concrete finishes give the space its barn-meets-home look.

A note on our plans. Every idea below comes from one of our homes. Our images are concept renderings, so the finishes and fixtures in them are illustrative and the drawings govern the layout. A plan set costs $149, is unstamped and is drawn for conventional wood framing, and your local team completes structure, engineering and permits. See what a plan set includes.

Eight interiors to borrow from

These eight homes show the range, from timber and stone to crisp and modern. Each description comes from the home's own page.

Home	What you see inside	An idea to borrow
The Meadowlark	A vaulted great room with exposed trusses and a whitewashed stone fireplace, plus an island kitchen with a walk-in pantry	One stone wall under a wood ceiling gives the room a focal point.
The Timberline	Exposed trusses in the great room, a river-rock fireplace and a soapstone kitchen island	Carry the timber from the entry porch into the room.
The Sandhill	Rough-sawn beams across the great room, a walnut-and-stone kitchen and a flex room that works as a home office	Warm materials soften a modern shell.
The Whitfield	A vaulted shiplap great room and a farmhouse kitchen with a butcher-block island and an apron sink	Painted wood keeps a tall room bright.
The Gathering Barn	An island that seats six, a dining room for ten, a butler's pantry and a game room	Plan the kitchen around how many people you host.
The Loon Lake Retreat	A reading loft above the living room, a black wood stove, pale oak and wool	A loft turns height into a quiet corner.
The Blackwood	White walls, pale oak, a black steel fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows	Keep the palette short and let the windows add the interest.
The Roadhouse RV	Polished concrete, a cedar ceiling and a black steel fireplace	Let a durable floor carry a hard-working room.

The great room

The ceiling sets the character of the room. Our plans lean on three looks.

Timber and truss. Exposed trusses or beams over the room, as in the Meadowlark, the Timberline and the Sandhill.
Painted or planked. The Whitfield's vaulted shiplap great room, the Ozark Gable's vaulted pine ceiling and the Bluegrass Cedar's vaulted cedar ceiling.
Two stories. The Overlook, the Wren Hollow and the Brazos Estate lift the great room two stories, and the Overlook and the Wren Hollow add a loft that looks down into it.

Exposed trusses are a framing question as well as a style choice. Ask your builder and engineer who designs the trusses you can see and what they carry. Our open-concept guide covers vaulted ceilings, truss design drawings and insulation.

Plan the ceiling fans early. ENERGY STAR says a fan needs a UL-listed outlet box marked for ceiling fans, anchored to the framing where possible, and notes that a fan can weigh as much as 50 pounds. In a vaulted room, mark the fan locations before the ceiling closes. In the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) 2024 buyer survey, which covers homes of all kinds and not only barndominiums, 81% rated ceiling fans essential or desirable.

The kitchen

Kitchens in our plans lean on an island and a pantry. The Gathering Barn's island seats six, its dining room fits ten and the plan adds a butler's pantry. The Meadowlark's island seats the whole family, and a walk-in pantry keeps the counters clear. The Brazos Estate has two islands.

Surfaces set the mood: butcher block and an apron sink in the Whitfield, soapstone on the Timberline's island and walnut and stone in the Sandhill.

NAHB's What Home Buyers Really Want, 2024 Edition surveyed more than 3,000 recent and prospective buyers. It found 80% rating a walk-in pantry and table space for eating essential or desirable, 78% a double sink, and 74% a central island and pull-out shelves. Our open-concept guide covers island clearances and what an open kitchen changes.

Fireplaces and wood stoves

Fireplaces carry much of a barndominium's personality. Our plans show stone in many forms: a whitewashed stone fireplace on the Meadowlark, a floor-to-ceiling limestone one on the Pedernales, fieldstone on the Bluegrass Cedar, river rock on the Timberline and brick on the Heritage Wing. The Blackwood and the Roadhouse RV go modern with black steel, and the Prairie Works, the Ozark Gable and the Loon Lake Retreat use wood stoves.

The 2021 model code treats each type differently. A solid-fuel room heater is tested to UL 1482 and installed to its listing, the maker's instructions and the code (M1410). A fireplace stove is tested to UL 737 and installed to its listing (M1414). A factory-built fireplace must be listed and labeled and installed to its listing (R1004.1). A masonry chimney must rise at least 2 ft above any part of the building within 10 ft, and at least 3 ft above the roof where it passes through (R1003.9), and a factory-built chimney follows its listing (R1005). Your state or county may use another edition, so your builder and building department confirm what applies, and the chimney drawn on a plan is a starting point.

Primary suite and bathrooms

Many of our plans put the primary suite on its own side of the house. The Meadowlark uses split bedrooms for privacy, and the Magnolia Split sets the primary suite on one side and the kids' rooms on the other. The Lone Star Wrap opens its primary bedroom to the porch through French doors.

Bath ideas include a curbless walk-in shower in the Heritage Wing's primary bath and a spa primary bath in the Vista Grande. In NAHB's 2024 survey, the top-rated bathroom features were a shower stall and tub together in the primary bath (78%), a linen closet (76%) and a private toilet compartment (70%).

Other bedrooms, bunk rooms and flex rooms

Several plans build in rooms that change roles. The Lone Star Wrap has a kids' bunk room and the Bluegrass Cedar a four-bunk room. The Sandhill's flex room works as a home office, the Blackwood's third bedroom doubles as an office with a view and the Pedernales' third bedroom doubles as a study. The Heritage Wing adds a guest suite wing with its own entry and a kitchenette, and the Tinkerer has a hobby room.

If a room could ever sleep someone, the model code calls for an emergency escape and rescue opening in every sleeping room (R310.1), so keep that window when you change a plan.

Laundry, mudroom and the shop door

A laundry room was the most wanted feature in NAHB's 2024 survey, rated essential or desirable by 86% of buyers and tied with a patio. Several plans give the back door real work. The Loon Lake Retreat has a gear room for kayaks and coats. In the Prairie Works and the Tinkerer, a door from the mudroom leads into the shop, so the workbench is steps away, and both plans note that your builder confirms the fire separation your code requires.

The model code does not allow a door from a garage straight into a bedroom, and it requires any other door between a garage and the house to be solid or fire-rated, self-latching and self-closing (R302.5.1). Your building department decides how it treats an attached shop. Our shouse guide covers the layouts.

Lofts and two-story rooms

Height can become rooms. The Loon Lake Retreat tucks a reading loft above the living room, the Overlook's loft looks down over its two-story great room and glass gable, the Wren Hollow has a loft family lounge and the Brazos Estate adds an upstairs bonus room. The model code asks for a guard at least 36 in high along any open edge more than 30 in above the floor below (R312.1), an escape opening in any room used for sleeping (R310.1) and a smoke alarm on each additional story (R314.3). Our two-story plans and the loft table in our 40x60 guide cover more.

Floors, walls and ceilings

Materials do much of the work inside a barndominium. The Roadhouse RV pairs polished concrete with a cedar ceiling. The Blackwood and the Loon Lake Retreat use pale oak, the Whitfield uses shiplap, the Ozark Gable pine and the Bluegrass Cedar a vaulted cedar ceiling. NAHB's survey found 81% of buyers rate hardwood for the main level essential or desirable.

All of our plans are drawn on a slab-on-grade foundation outline, so ask your builder what the slab needs for the floor you want. If you are weighing a lower level, read our basement guide first.

Light and views

Glass is part of the interior. The Blackwood and the Loon Lake Retreat use floor-to-ceiling windows, the Palmetto Lanai opens its great room through three sets of wide glass doors, the Courtyard Works puts glass doors on its courtyard and the Overlook lifts a glass gable over its great room. NAHB's survey found 83% of buyers rate ENERGY STAR windows essential or desirable. Large openings in exterior walls are the kind of change an engineer reviews, as our customizing guide explains.

Before you fall for an interior

Which ceiling is it? Vaulted, exposed trusses or flat, and who designs what you can see.
Where does each fan go, and has the outlet box been planned?
What kind of fire is it: a wood stove, a factory-built fireplace or masonry? Ask what each needs for the floor, the wall and the chimney.
Where do coats, boots and bags land before they reach the great room?
Where do small appliances live, and is there a pantry?
Which rooms need a door that closes, such as the office and the primary suite?
How does the shop connect, and which wall and door separate it from the house?
What do the finishes cost? Ask builders for itemized allowances on flooring, counters and fixtures.

A steel or post-frame shell changes some of this. Walls can be thicker and posts or columns can show, so room sizes and openings may shift. Our guide to a wood-framed plan in a steel shell explains what to check. To compare layouts, start with our modern plans and farmhouse plans, and read how to choose a layout.

Questions

What does the inside of a barndominium look like?

Most center on one great room that combines the living area, dining area and kitchen, often under a vaulted ceiling with wood trusses or beams, with a primary suite and the other bedrooms set apart. Our homes add stone or steel fireplaces, islands, lofts and mudrooms to that pattern.

Do barndominiums have exposed trusses or beams?

Many do. The Meadowlark and the Timberline show trusses over the great room, and the Sandhill crosses its great room with rough-sawn beams. Ask your builder and engineer who designs the trusses you can see and what they carry.

Can I put a wood stove in a barndominium?

Often, yes, and three of our plans show one. The 2021 model code calls for a listed solid-fuel room heater installed to its listing, the maker's instructions and the code, so your builder and building department confirm what your stove and chimney need.

How many bedrooms can a barndominium have?

As many as the plan draws. Our plans are grouped into 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom collections, and several include a room that doubles as an office or study. Under the model code, any room used for sleeping needs an escape window.

Can I change an interior layout?

Your builder or drafter can change a plan from the editable CAD file, and walls that hold nothing up are among the simpler changes. A BarndoVista plan set costs $149, and our customizing guide explains which changes need an engineer.