Built like a barn door

This beautiful barn has been converted, lovingly, into a self-contained residence, and who wouldn’t want to live here? We often use the word ‘rustic’ as a way of describing an interior design genre, but this is the real deal. The rustic integrity and design of the original building has been used to great effect.

The first thing we notice is the maximum height aïr lift and glide doors, at 3m in height, they still move with little effort, but what a way to use the building’s true character.

The height is matched to the barn doors and reveals the ground floor height and also the beautiful roof timbers. The aluminium is the perfect foil (no pun intended) to the rough hewn wood, and the bulky cast-iron fittings. The understated black, and slim lines allow the building to be what it is, without enforcing a modern style. In the winter, the u values allow this open-plan space to remain warm, the log burner can be blazing and the owners can look out into an uninterrupted night sky. In the summer, the leaf can slide back and allow the barn to breathe as if the original doors were swung wide.

Inside this marvellous open-plan dwelling, we are treated to minimal Smarts Heritage windows, the sink window without intrusive glazing bars. The real treat for us was the glazing into the green oak gables, each aperture of a slightly different size, the emphasis being on the geometry and feel of the building’s structure, yet look at the photos to see just how well the dark aluminium compliments yet juxtaposes the timber.