BUILT FOR LIFESTYLE LIVING

Liveable Sheds and Barn Houses

Practical, character-filled homes designed for life on the land.

There’s a very good reason why Canterbury and the West Coast are attracting people from all over New Zealand – it’s an awesome place to live. And a lot of people think it’s even better if you live in a rural or semi-rural setting. We think that a style of home that suits living here perfectly is the Barn House – which is often also known as a Liveable Shed.

At T Dunn Builders, we specialise in building barn-style homes and liveable sheds throughout North Canterbury, Canterbury and the West Coast. These distinctive homes combine the practical qualities of a classic New Zealand farm building with the comfort, warmth and personality of a beautifully designed new home. They look perfectly at home in their surroundings, and inside the generous proportions give you plenty of scope to create a home that reflects your personality.

There’s a barn house to suit your style

Barn/shed-style homes’ aesthetic ranges from traditional and rustic through to sophisticated and contemporary. Your material options include different new and recycled timbers, corrugated steel, Colorsteel, glass, and polished concrete. Then add design elements like exposed structures, verandas, feature windows and doors, and you have massive scope to personalise the look and feel of the finished house.

A rural home designed around your lifestyle

One of the advantages of building on a rural property is that it gives you the opportunity to create something perfectly suited to the way you like to live. If you want it there’s space for hobbies, vehicles, equipment, and entertaining. Maybe you want large open-plan living areas that connect naturally with the outdoors and take advantage of views across the magnificent North Canterbury landscape or the wild West Coast. Or you like something more intimate that lets you tuck yourself away among the beech trees and native bush. Whatever you have in mind, a Barn House or Liveable Shed can accommodate it all. In fact, that ability for customisation is one of the things that attracted us to this style of building in the first place.

At T Dunn Builders, we only build custom homes. We work with you to understand what you want from your property and how you want your home to function. And because we’re lifestyle property owners ourselves, we understand that rural living comes with its own special set of practical considerations.

Liveable sheds for rural properties

A liveable shed can be an excellent option when you want a home that combines comfortable accommodation with generous practical space. It can provide somewhere to live alongside workshops, storage, recreational areas or any other spaces you require for your rural lifestyle.

As always, the important thing is getting the design right from the beginning. A successful liveable shed should feel like a home, not a shed with rooms added to it. Good planning can create comfortable living areas, natural light, efficient heating and insulation, with a layout that makes everyday life easy.

Built for the Canterbury and West Coast landscape

Our region offers virtually unlimited settings for a barn-style home. From the beach communities around Rangiora and Kaiapoi to the rural and lifestyle properties further north and inland, there are endless opportunities. With the right design, you can make the most of the spectacular views, sunlight and outdoor living. We build new homes throughout wider Canterbury and on the West Coast, so if your rural property is in an area such as Methven, Lake Brunner or elsewhere in the region, we’d love to talk to you about your project.

Building a rural home is a significant project, and having a friendly working relationship between us makes the whole project a pleasure from start to finish. The proof of that is the award-winning Loburn House you might have seen on TV. This distinctive barn-inspired rural home featured on TVNZ’s Grand Designs and went on to take home a Master Builders Supreme Regional Award. Bringing this amazing project to life involved working side by side with the owners at the site on an almost daily basis.

Building a rural home is a significant project, and having a friendly working relationship between us makes the whole project a pleasure from start to finish. The proof of that is the award-winning Loburn House you might have seen on TV. This distinctive barn-inspired rural home featured on TVNZ’s Grand Designs and went on to take home a Master Builders Supreme Regional Award. Bringing this amazing project to life involved working side by side with the owners at the site on an almost daily basis.