Modern Barn Living

- The Hybrid Barn

Barn homes built using traditional post and beam (mortise and tenon) timber framing represent a dream for many. Yet they're out of reach for most, requiring highly specialised carpentry and premium-grade timber, both of which significantly increase build costs.

In 2025, we refined a proven approach to align with our own style of timber frame construction, with a clear goal: to make the dream of living in a timber barn home more financially attainable for New Zealanders - without compromising on the essence of what makes these homes so special.

Our solution is the “hybrid” barn home. While the concept itself isn’t new, our application is deliberate and design-led. We retain traditional mortise and tenon timber framing where it delivers the greatest impact - verandas, kitchens, and main living spaces - while integrating conventional construction methods in secondary areas to optimise cost efficiency.

The result is a carefully balanced home that preserves the beauty and integrity of traditional timber framing, while achieving a far more accessible build cost - typically in the range of $3,500 per square metre.

As mentioned above the design is "tried and tested", and to this we owe a debt of gratitude to our close friend, Warren Owen, who allowed us the use of his design. Warren designs and builds affordable barn homes in the U.S.A. where he is from. The design has proved incredibly popular among Warren's customers and he has spent considerable time and effort refining the design over the years, improving it in every conceivable aspect. Not least of which is the astounding amount of storage in the design. Storage mightn't be "sexy" to many new home buyers, but ask anyone who has bought or built a home before and they will surely state unequivocally that having convenient access to storage - and a lot of it - is an absolute game changer in the realm of intelligent architectural design's ability to improve life quality. If you are looking for a home design with the maximum amount of storage, contact us to enquire about the Hybrid Barn or better yet, come for a Hybrid Barn viewing here on the farm. To arrange a viewing, contact us.

For budget conscious fans of high level timber work and barn homes it is a really special home. But there are of course tradeoffs: to lower the costs it doesn't contain all the intricate handmade details found in the barn homes we are known for, nor as much timber. Yes, you can increase the amount of timber if you want, in fact the design can be upgraded in many ways. But at the base level, the design is intended as an affordable barn home to the majority of people who might otherwise be unable to buy the really fancy barn home they aspire to one day own (and hopefully can eventually!).

Prices, for your region

Generally the price for our Hybrid is in the NZD 580-690k range, nationwide. Each area is different though. To get the right price, specific to your land, firstly get in touch - take the time to send us a detailed enquiry via our contact page and include the things that matter to you. Building a home is serious, it's personal, it's life changing, and details really matter. We want to help you, and whether you end up living in one of our homes or someone else's, everyone wins when choices made are done so based on accurate information. So be candid, be clear and give due respect to the importance of the enquiry process. Secondly, when we have reviewed your enquiry we will be in touch to speak with you in greater detail. If we believe you would be suited to another home design or another building company we will say so and may be able to recommend someone suitable. If there's a clear fit between what Heritage Timbercraft offers with your objectives, expectations and budget, we will facilitate and manage the introduction and relationship with the best barn home specialist in your region.

It's said that on any typical home build 300,000 variables/things can go wrong. Some builders are better at mitigating risk during a build which - on average - produces higher customer satisfaction. Aside from a builder's attention to detail, experience and discipline, his/her attitude and outlook will determine the quality of your building experience.

Relationships, trust, friendships - and fun! These are things which matter to us. Our build partners aren't just random builders who know how to knock up a house. They've demonstrated to us technical skills, knowledge and integrity over a long period. We can't be everywhere, and as mentioned earlier we are timber specialists - we're not a regular building company - so our build partners are our representatives around New Zealand.

If there are 300,000 things which can go wrong during a build, the relationship between builder and client must be sound - at the very least - because things will inevitably go wrong at some point and the relationship with your builder will be tested.

Although you might deal primarily with our build partner representative during your build, we warmly invite all of our clients to visit us here on the farm in Hawke's Bay. Oftentimes clients will come spend a day (or more) as we craft the timber for their home. Even if the timing isn't quite right to see the timber for your home being crafted, and you just want to see where the work is done generally, we warmly extend an invitation to our clients to visit us here and we will be thrilled to show you through our yard, introduce you to our exceptional team, and treat you to some Hawke's Bay hospitality.