A 19th-century barn becomes a contemporary family home
This handsome 19th-century barn has been converted into a contemporary countryside family home. The striking building situated in the client’s working farm was previously used for storage and harks back to the very start of the farm; upstairs a giant loft space stored hay, with animals housed below.
Our clients approached Austin Design Works to design a sensitive yet contemporary conversion with an upside-down plan arrangement, locating the bedrooms on the ground floor and the living spaces and master bedroom on the first floor. This arrangement enabled the prioritisation of the spaces, in terms of daylight, privacy and views to the beautiful rural landscape, as well as maintaining a sense of the barn’s end-to-end openness on the first floor.
“It’s a real ‘wow’ space, so it’s really fun when we show people inside - when they see the upstairs living room and kitchen space. It’s also practical, which was high up on our list of requirements. For our needs, it works and it’s everything we wanted it to be. It feels like the farmhouse that we wanted without it being an actual farmhouse!
We felt that the architects from Austin Design Works really understood the brief. The barn’s on our family farm that my wife and I run so it had to be part of our lifestyle. For us, it was important that they understood how we wanted to use the building and how it related to the farm, and Austin Design Works took the time to do that.
It’s great for entertaining in. I’m delighted because I always wanted to stand in one space and see from one end to the other of the entire upper space, which we can do.”
MICHAEL BISHOP
Buildings like Longman’s Barn are fundamental to the English landscape, providing a sense of place and local distinctiveness. Throughout the design process, we carefully considered the building’s cultural and historic sensitivity and its capacity for change, by minimising external alterations and transforming the spaces within its footprint. Every opening was carefully detailed and crafted in collaboration with local joiners.
Traditional and modern breathable materials have been used in its repair and renovation including wood fibre insulation, lime plaster and clay paints. By combining preservation and exposure of character features with distinct, crisp modern interventions, we have retained its historic character whilst expressing its new life as a contemporary home that will be loved and taken care of in the years to come.
The ground floor retained the existing ceiling height and much of its original finishes, which contrast with the newer and crisp interventions, creating a charming and characterful home.
The wooden staircase leads you to the first floor, which opens up into a tall vaulted space.
The original design intent was to maintain visual continuity on this floor. This was achieved by separating the living room and kitchen with a joinery-made plywood screen, whose straight edges contrast with the existing undulating trusses. This playful division is composed of a combination of polycarbonate and glass areas, allowing views and light across the spaces.
Existing openings were retained and celebrated, as well as much of the existing structure, by careful framing and placement of light fixtures.
Architects: Austin Design Works
Quantity surveyor: Broadhursts CQS
Structural engineers: MDHP Ltd & Davies Torres Design Ltd
Main contractor: J R Building Ltd
Oak joinery: G K Joinery Ltd
Plywood joinery: J R Building Ltd
Building services design: J R Building Ltd
Photography: Mark Welsh / Item 2 Ltd
