Adding to the landscape of honey-hued stone builds that line the winding paths of the Cotswolds, Design Storey complete a historic barn renovation in the country. Designed for a professional couple from Liverpool who were after a bolthole they could nip to on a Friday night for sweeping weekend visits, the design is humble in size and yet elevated in its delivery.
Despite its now modern feel, the project started with the Grade II listed structure in a complete state of disrepair. “The barn was derelict. Some of the timber roof structure had failed and the timber posts at the front were rotting away. There was no floor in the two-storey section and the rain was coming in. It simply was not habitable,” says Lydia Robinson of Design Storey.
Prior to the degradation, the agricultural build functioned in two parts. The first was a single-storey cow shed and the second was a two-storey bull pen complete with a hayloft that was bolted onto the end of the cow shed.
Using these two elements to inform the floor-plan, Design Storey split the design in half. Phase one sees the cow shed manifest as a singular open space merging the living room, dining room and kitchen into one.
Phase two however, tucks the intimate spaces – the bedrooms and bathrooms – into the old bull pen. The master suite takes over the second floor of this volume entirely and features a luxe free-standing tub.
Though the two halves create a natural split in the plan, the open nature of both barns required architectural intervention to unite the pair and create walled-off spaces for the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Design Storey’s solution? A timber pod that sits on the shared boundary of the old buildings. “The new pod, mitigated the level change and acted as a divider division between the bedrooms and bathrooms. It also housed the new staircase to the first floor.”
Guided by the Grade II listing of the build, Design Storey have maintained as much of the original fabric of the barn as possible. As such, sandy-coloured stone blocks stack up across the walls while carved elm beams accentuate the agricultural vernacular of the gabled roof form.
Smoothing out this rustic line-up, the design team also introduced new materials including contemporary timber battens and lime washed walls.
Balancing the textural variance of this material palette, colours have been kept restrained, falling anywhere between white and light neutrals. This aesthetic is shared in every room, creating the cohesion and sanctuary feel that holiday homes thrive off.
Although Design Storey retained, repaired and revived the original fabric where they could – to the extent where the bases of raw timber posts had brand new timber sensitively scarfed in by a joiner – there were some parts of the build that required brand new applications for health and safety reasons.
“We did replace the asbestos roof with corrugated metal.”
As a complete project, the design is very much the sum of a collaboration between the client, the design team, heritage consultants, the structural engineer and a conservation officer. Together they have created a weekend getaway that balances form and function while honouring the agricultural roots of the barn with creative design nuances. The result? A modern interpretation of the Cotswoldian retreat, and one we wouldn’t mind escaping to!
Project details:
Location: The Cotswolds
Project Size: 113 sq. m
Architect & Interior Designer: Design Storey (see more of their work here)
Builder & Contractor: Matford Construction
Structural Engineer: Mann Williams Consulting Engineers
Doors & Windows: Aluminium sliders, Origin
Lighting: Jim Lawrence
Flooring: Beswick Stone
Bathroom: Lusso Stone
Photographer: Lawrence Grigg
For more from Design Storey, you can check out their website here.
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