An all-timber interior provides a burst of warmth More than a century ago, simple stone houses called blackhouses used to fill the Scottish and Irish countryside. Built with stone walls and floors and topped with a thatched gabled roof, the structures were primitive shelters for farm workers and animals.
Though the homes were exceedingly simple, they?ve proven to be stylistically influential hundreds of years down the line. A new house from Scotland-based firm Mary Arnold-Forster Architects is a modern take on the blackhouse, though it has little in common with its stoney predecessor beyond its traditional form.

Photo: David Barbour via Dezeen

Photo: David Barbour via Dezeen

Photo: David Barbour via Dezeen
Set on a hill outside Skye, Scotland, the tin-clad house is all about embracing opposites: dark on the outside, light on the inside. ?Being both happy and sad at exactly the same time is human and acceptable,? the architects told Dezeen. ?The Black Shed is an expression of that. It is sombre, quiet, and restrained yet full of joy.?

Photo: David Barbour via Dezeen

The inside of the home is lined entirely in Douglas fir. Everything from the walls to floors, to ceilings and cabinets is built in the material, giving the house a warm monochromatic glow.
The only thing that cuts through the timber are simple black accents and large cut-out picture windows that peek out onto the green cou...