Benefit 1: Rural Lifestyle

All of the apartment owners we interviewed had a similar idea.

If you're looking for a simple rural lifestyle for your family, living in one is a great option.

It's not uncommon to meet apartment owners or builders who utilize rainwater harvesting systems, and they are always talking about gardening.

Many even have backup systems that include generators, propane tanks and alternative energy sources such as solar.

But rural lifestyles go beyond sustainable living. It's also a great option for those who have lots of outdoor interests and toys.

For most people, they choose to live in a barndominium because it is usually in a rural area and allows [them] room for their hobbies and toys, such as woodworking, RVs and ATVs.

Benefit 2: Reduced exterior home maintenance

Barndominiums tend to require less maintenance because they are built with weather-resistant materials (especially steel siding and metal roofs).

Metal apartments are one of the lowest maintenance housing types you can imagine.

They do not require as much maintenance as traditional homes and are much more durable than most stick-built homes.

The metal used is usually coated, so you likely won't need to paint or maintain it, or at least not for a long time.

And unlike wood, metal doesn't rot or attract pests like termites.

Advantage No. 3: Unlimited interior customization

If you like high ceilings and want the flexibility to customize the interior of your house, then you may like the expansive floor plan of barndominium.

The best feature of the common barndominium is that there is a lot of wide space under a clear span roof, giving you more creative freedom to do what you want with the interior, and living in one of the best parts of it is because you can customize the interior space infinitely.

If you like high ceilings and want the flexibility to customize your interior, then you may like the irregular floor plan of a barn-style apartment.

The best feature of the average barn apartment is the many spacious open spaces under a clear span roof, giving you more creative freedom to do whatever you want indoors.

Disadvantage 1: Lack of storage space (and privacy)

The flip side of having a big, beautiful room take over your entire house is:You may not have a lot of storage space or privacy.

One potential disadvantage of living in a barn apartment is that there is no separate storage space for your belongings, and many people also feel that living in a bar reduces their personal privacy because your every move in there may be watched by one or more other residents.

Disadvantage 2:Too noisy

Ah, yes, the sound of rain on a metal roof; and, all the other outdoor sounds (the sound of your neighbor's construction work, your child's all-terrain vehicle) may also be coming through the walls and ceilings of your beloved house.

Because of the hybrid nature of these homes, they may experience noise levels beyond those expected in traditional residential spaces.

These sounds don't just come from the outside.

Sources of increased noise may include ventilation systems and other elements of the building structure that are not present in typical homes.

Disadvantage 3: More expensive than you might think

Because barns are typically outfitted with a lot of metal, they are much more expensive than standard wooden buildings - especially if you plan to build them from the ground up.

Some people even think that barndo is a cheaper entry point to building a house, which is not true.

If you are building with all or mostly metal, steel and metal is a serious investment - bigger than wood and traditional building materials.