The Designers Gutted This 1910 Idaho Barn to Create a Cozy Family Retreat – But Inside, It’s Anything but Rustic

From the outside, this Idaho project looks every inch the rural escape: a weathered 1910 barn sitting among rolling fields and beneath some seriously big blue skies. Inside, though, it’s a rather different story.

The original barn has been completely gutted and transformed by Élan Design House into a warm, layered vacation home for a family of six – one designed for muddy shoes, movie nights, big family meals and, importantly, 'a LOT of dust'. The property sits alongside the original farmhouse and remaining barns, with farmland stretching out in every direction, so the clients wanted a place to escape the city and spend time together without having to tiptoe around a precious interior.

That family-first, dust-disguising brief shaped the design at every turn. Flooring was chosen to blend in with the dirt; earthy taupes and greens help disguise everyday mess, and performance fabrics, durable wool rugs, and leather furnishings were chosen to take whatever family life throws at them. But practical doesn't mean predictable, nor does it mean boring. Rustic beams, paneled walls, vintage lighting, handmade tiles, and layers of pattern bring plenty of character, while the original wood-burning stove keeps the barn's bones firmly in the picture. 'We wanted the house to feel authentic to its roots, but we also wanted it to be usable,' the designers explain – and that balance is really the magic here.

There’s something rather lovely about the fact that this isn’t a barn designed to look old – it genuinely has the history to prove it. Dating back to 1910, the original farmhouse and barns are still standing, with the clients’ siblings living in the farmhouse as they work through their own renovation. 'One of the barns became the vacation home we designed for the clients', designers Kilian Camp and Alison Green explain. They completely gutted it inside but kept the exterior intact, allowing the building’s agricultural charm to remain while rethinking everything within it. 'We wanted to lean into the rugged environment,' they add.

Inside, the generous main room brings the kitchen, dining area, and living room together, with plenty of breathing space between each zone so six people can actually move around without constantly bumping into one another. 'Family is very important to them, and they wanted a place to gather and spend time together,' Kilian and Alison continue. 'There needed to be flexibility to accommodate different activities throughout the seasons and house a large group comfortably.'

The furniture, therefore, is practical and adaptable: leather ottomans on casters can be pushed around for game nights, while vintage chairs add extra seats when needed; an extendable dining table grows with the guest list, and a generous kitchen island naturally draws everyone together. They also worked hard to ensure the back of the house remained private and cozy, so that 'if anyone needed to escape from the hustle and bustle, there was a quiet area to go to'.

With farmland stretching beyond the windows, there was little point pretending this house existed anywhere else. The landscape is very much part of the experience, from the rolling fields to chickens pecking in the grass, and a 'menagerie of cats and dogs' outside. Élan Design House responded by keeping the interiors grounded and tonal, starting with the main room’s paint color and flooring before layering in warm woods, creams, greens and taupes. 'We wanted the quality of the materials to shine,' the designers explain, and the restrained palette does exactly that, giving the grain of the wood, the woven textures and the aged finishes room to speak for themselves.

Instead of being heavy-handed with their nods to the barn's former agricultural life, the house takes cues from its surroundings and softens them – natural materials, homespun quilts, chunky throws and vintage art create a layered, lived-in feel, while deeper greens and blues and flashes of pattern give each room its own personality.

The original wood-burning stove was kept, becoming the heart of the living room, while new ceiling beams and a mix of old and new reinforce that sense of history without turning the whole thing into a cliché. As the designers put it, 'We love to use a tonal palette, lots of textures and patterns to provide depth and interest,' they add. They then layered deeper tones to feel cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and dialled up the fun out back with bedroom wallpaper to 'make each room feel special'.

The house may have the easy atmosphere of a vacation retreat, but there is a lot of thought behind that apparent effortlessness. This even came down to the flooring choices. 'We designed the space knowing that it would get a lot of wear and tear, so we selected flooring that was a similar color to the dust so that it would blend in,' Kilian and Alison explain.

Good-quality furniture was also chosen to stand up to years of use, then paired with performance and natural-fiber fabrics that could cope with whatever family life might throw at them. 'Leather ottomans only get better with age,' they advise. 'Vintage or vintage-style furniture already is a bit banged up, so more dents and chips don't matter!'

That same level of consideration runs right through the details. Hooks were built into the entryway wainscoting so there would be somewhere for all the family’s stuff to gather and not clutter, while the kitchen island and built-in storage give the main spaces plenty of flexibility.

But perhaps the sweetest example is the picture ledge running around the main living area. Rather than fixing the artwork permanently in place, it gives the family permission to move things around, add photographs, and let the house change with them. 'We love adding in art to projects; it really makes a home feel finished and collected,' the designers say. 'We looked at every item in the home and thought about how we could make it unique or interesting,' they add. This is a house designed to work hard, yes, but it was also designed to gather memories along the way.

The kitchen is not only the heart of the home, but the anchor of the open-plan space, with plenty of room for cooking, baking and entertaining. Soft cream cabinetry and a taupe backsplash keep the palette in step with the rest of the main living space, while graphite appliances were selected to add a little depth – and, conveniently, are rather more forgiving when life gets messy.

The designers were equally careful about the lighting, choosing to 'purposely omit can lighting' and rely solely on decorative fixtures for both task and ambient light, including the trio of wide, black pendants above the island. The smaller details like handmade-look tile, traditional cabinetry detailing, and overhead beams keep that connection to the rural setting, while the island itself gives the family a place to spread out, perch for breakfast, or gather while dinner is being prepared.

Kilian and Alison also wanted the connecting living space to be flexible enough for everything from a quiet afternoon to a full house, so the seating is deliberately generous and easy-going: two deep lounge chairs in a soft gray-green fabric, a substantial sofa, vintage wooden chairs, layered pillows, and a textured rug make the whole arrangement feel wonderfully sink-in-and-stay-a-while.

'The original wood-burning stove acts as the center of this area and will be lit with a cozy fire during the winter months,' they continue. 'There is a built-in to house games and a TV, too.' Vintage art and a brass floor lamp add the collected character the designers were after – 'we love mixing in contemporary elements to keep the design fresh and current'. The dining area sits just beyond, visually connected but comfortably separate, with its long wooden table and woven chairs reinforcing the same warm, relaxed palette.

The guest bedroom is where Élan Design House lets the palette take a decidedly moodier turn. Deep burgundy floral wallpaper wraps the walls, creating a cocooning backdrop for the simple iron bed, soft blue-gray linens, and verdant views. It’s a lovely contrast to the quieter communal spaces, but still feels firmly part of the same scheme thanks to the restrained colors and natural textures.

The designers admit they 'loooove the wallpaper in the guest bedroom and bunk room,' and it’s easy to see why: rather than treating pattern as an afterthought, they use it to give each bedroom its own personality. The nearby bathroom takes a lighter approach, pairing cream tile with a warm checkerboard floor, dark bronze plumbing, and a floral shower curtain that feels more like fabric you’d find in a bedroom than a bathroom. Even the practical spaces get a little moment of charm.

'The primary suite includes a bathroom with dark green tile, moss green wainscoting, another cute vanity, and a bedroom with dark green paneling on all of the walls,' they explain. The palette feels particularly at home in this setting: blue-green walls, chocolate-brown accents, checked pillows, and a vintage-style landscape painting all echo the colors and textures beyond the windows, without veering into anything too literal. '

An upholstered and iron bed with bedding in different patterns and textures finishes the space,' they add. A quilted throw adds just enough pattern to keep the room from feeling overly buttoned-up, while the unfussy furniture allows the views to take center stage. The adjoining shower room continues the earthy scheme with mottled gray-green tiles, custom niches and blackened hardware. It’s exactly the sort of pairing that makes this barn retreat feel layered rather than themed. 'Everything in this home has a purpose, and every detail was thought through, such as the bathroom countertops and cabinets,' they add.

For the kids' room, they loosened the reins a little. The bunk room is easily the most playful space in the house, with four navy bunk beds taking center stage against whimsical wallpaper scattered with tiny horses, flowers, and birds. The plaid bedding keeps things feeling suitably country without tipping into full-on farmhouse territory, while a patchwork quilt adds another layer of pattern in the same inky blue. It is practical, too, with drawers built into the bunks for keeping the inevitable collection of stuff under control, and the generous window means the room still feels connected to the landscape outside.

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From its weathered exterior to its surprisingly layered interiors, this is a barn that refuses to play by the rules. Élan Design House has kept the spirit of the original building intact while giving the family everything a modern family retreat needs: somewhere to gather, somewhere to escape, and plenty of spaces that can withstand the realities of six people living, relaxing and making a mess together. The result is rustic in spirit, but not in the predictable sense – a warm, characterful home that feels rooted in its Idaho setting while doing things very much its own way.

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