Japanese Charred Timber-Clad Barn House

A modern barn-house-style luxury home by MAEK

published on 22 September 2026

3 minutes read

Shou Sugi Ban gabled home and curved landscaped garden

Light, shadow, pitched geometry, tactile timber and softened curves shape the reading of this Peppermint Grove home by MAEK before its plan is fully understood. In the living areas, sunlight stretches across pale timber floors and gathers around a kitchen island whose green quartzite surface is grounded by a fluted concrete base; beyond it, dark cabinetry and black-framed glazing sharpen the otherwise airy palette. The raked ceiling, exposed timber rafters, and high gable volume draw the eye upward, translating the exterior barn-like silhouette into an interior experience of height, warmth, and calm.

Completed in 2022 as a private residence for a family of five, the home occupies a 918-square-metre site in Perth’s Peppermint Grove and is arranged to make the most of its north-facing aspect. This orientation is felt throughout the interior, where generous glazing brings daylight deep into the open-plan kitchen, dining and living spaces, then extends the daily rhythm outward to terraces and landscaped garden rooms. Sheer curtains filter the brightness without dulling it, allowing the house to feel both open and sheltered.

Shou Sugi Ban gabled home façade and curved landscaping

Nicholas Putrasia

Open-plan living room and kitchen beneath raked timber rafters

Green quartzite kitchen island and fluted concrete base in Peppermint Grove home

Pitched ceiling living room and green quartzite kitchen island

Peppermint Grove living room, raked ceiling, timber rafters and fireplace

Dining room timber table and sheer curtains in Peppermint Grove home

The finished result is a beautiful combination of the modern and the traditional that will endure through time.
MAEK Residences

Outside, the architectural language becomes more emphatic. Three pitched roof forms step across the composition, giving the house the clarity of a modern barn while avoiding nostalgia through crisp detailing, broad glazing and restrained monochrome framing. The defining exterior feature is the Shou Sugi Ban cladding on the front façade. Also known as Yakisugi, Shou Sugi Ban is a traditional Japanese method of preserving wood by charring the surface with fire. Here, its dark, textured finish gives depth to the gabled forms, setting up a deliberate contrast with the smooth, pale walls, glass connections, and curved landscaping that soften the home’s angular profile.

Shou Sugi Ban gable façade and black window box

Nicholas Putrasia

That balance between strength and softness continues inside. Solid European oak timber and micro-cement concrete flooring lend warmth and contemporary restraint to the main living areas, while the bathroom shifts towards intimacy with peach polished plaster and matching peach concrete basins. Arched mirrors, globe lighting and rounded joinery edges echo the landscape’s curves, countering the assertive rooflines with a gentler domestic rhythm. The result is a residence where traditional craft and modern barn-house form are not simply placed side by side, but fused into a cohesive architectural character — robust, sunlit and quietly enduring.