‘Barndominiums’ grow in popularity as people seek unique rural escapes

On 240 acres at Big Stone Lake in northeast South Dakota, Jason and Debbie Hubers own a property filled with trails that wind through ravines and native grasses.

“And I wanted a place that looked like it had been there 100 years,” Jason Hubers said. “The only way I could do that was to build a building instead of a home. I wanted it to look natural-like in the setting and not like someone built it there.”

That was about five years ago, and this is what it looks like today:

People go inside and look and say, “wow,” he said. “I wanted the outside to look weathered, and on the inside I wanted it to be high ceilings, and the lean-to where the kitchen and game room are with exposed beams, like the beams you’d make a barn out of, with everything exposed inside.”

The desire to live inside a barn – or something that seems like one – has given birth to a building style popularly called the “barndominium” as a hybrid of barn and condominium, or “shouse” as in a combination shop and house.

“We have a very strong demand for barndominiums throughout all of our reach as a business, and that demand has grown exponentially over the past couple of years,” said Suzannah Reaves, who co-owns Sioux Falls-based Reaves Buildings with Jeff Thue and Jason Sterk.

“I think people are changing the way in which they want to live. And (seeing) how beautifully done these barndominiums can be.”

Her business provides the all-wood structures that can be shipped if needed, and owners work with their own contractors or those referred by Reaves to finish the inside.

Inquiries have come from coast to coast, but Reaves primarily handles projects in South Dakota and bordering states.

For Hubers, the original idea was to rent out the six-bedroom, 7,000-square-foot property, “and we enjoyed it so much we decided not to,” he said. “But we’ve had a few people that heard about our place and wanted to come take a look, and we’re happy to show them.”

The structure is “very well insulated and very well built,” he added. “I have a lot of faith in the (Reaves) engineers and design team, and my niece is an interior decorator, and we took a lot of stuff we found in the area, like what a grain bin would be made out of, and we made a big kitchen island. And all the exterior is re-treated wood we took off an old barn, so it has those features inside as well.”

His kids and grandkids enjoy visiting, he added.

“They come there a lot because there’s room for all of us,” he said. “We’re big family people, and we like to host people, and I wanted something big and open to show off what we have in South Dakota. I bring a lot of clients here. I would say it’s been a very positive experience for us.”

Joy and Daryl Christensen have become big fans of the lifestyle too. She helps with social media for Reaves, and they live in a barndominium near Wall Lake.

It serves both as a home and a shop/garage for tools, vehicles and equipment.

“He let me do the interior, and I let him do the shop, and we’re both happy,” Joy Christensen said. “It’s an eclectic blend of contemporary and industrial and a few pieces we really love and have kept through time.”

While HGTV and its unconventional home features helped spark the barndominium trend, social media has accelerated it.

“The HGTV effect, people were home so much more in the past year watching those things and designing their own homes and learning how to live more cost-effectively either in less space with nicer finishes or having their home and shop connected,” Reaves said. “Living out in the country has become a huge draw for people as well.”

There are everything from Facebook groups to TikTok videos devoted to the structures.

Architectural design and structure integrity are key. At Reaves, the buildings have wind ratings more than 100 miles per hour.

“We design all our buildings to meet local codes,” Reaves said. “What we’re going to design for a Sioux Falls building is not what we’re going to design for a building in Minnesota. The thing about our buildings is they’re completely customizable, so you tell us how you want them to be built, and we will engineer them and build them to meet what you want.”

She estimates the local, family-owned business is working on 10 or 12 barndominiums at any given time.

“I love watching them come to life,” she said. “There’s so much more involvement in this than just building or buying a home because you’re involved in an actual building process. You’re learning about the trusses, and you’re meeting with framers and contractors, and our salesmen work with you every step of the way.”