Before


already undergone a conversion from an agricultural outbuilding to a dark and cramped two-bedroomed home. Originally built around 1750 as a pig shed, the building, named Lutterburn, featured a hay loft and was surrounded by an ancient orchard. The house was set around a dark hallway with limited views and restricted access to an overgrown garden.


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Having lived in the existing house for more than a decade, the couple were clear on what they wanted. Their shopping list for the house had three main components: more space, good natural lighting and better access to the garden. The couple also sought to bring back some of the building’s agricultural heritage – minus the pigs, of course. “We always liked Ugborough and loved the


external look of the barn and its sizeable garden as well as its location within the village.” It also sits on the edge of a conservation area in South Hams, but very little of the garden and the surrounding views were visible from the house. his was their first adenture into bespoe building work on this scale. “We’d undertaken full redecoration and converted a downstairs shower room to a utility room – neither of which is in the same ballpark.” Barn conversions have long been a popular selfbuild proect tpe heir confiuration allows for high ceilings, open-plan living and haylofts to conert into meanine oors for bedrooms


48 www.sbhonline.co.uk


hen Chris and Sarah Dale purchased their home in the village of Ugborough, Devon over 15 years ago, it had


The building style suits large-scale windows to let in plenty of natural light. And there’s the extra factor of location barns b definition tend to be in unspoilt areas surrounded by countryside offering incomparable views. If you look online for ‘barn conversions,’ there is a tendency to see a centuries-old building that has been gutted to insert a contemporary home. he leel of finish on both the outside and inside can end up making the building look new. But Chris and Sarah wanted to preserve some of its agricultural history through clever design. The couple did endless amounts of homework on what makes a good barn conversion. “We spent months looking around at other barn conversions and farm buildings to ensure we kept an agricultural feel.” “We wanted a modern twist on a barn extension with an obvious delineation of old and new,” explains Chris. “We needed more space, but also more light, as well as better connection with the garden.”


“When we moved in, there were a lot of things that had been done cheaply,” adds Sarah. Good advice on revamping a home is to live in it for at least a year and learn how you use the spaces before reconfiurin the buildin or Chris and Sarah, it became a decade – but that meant they knew in great detail what they needed from their new house. he proect bean when the couple first


met architect Tim Offer in 2016, with work commencing two years later in September 2018. Choosing an architect to trust your life savings and design your family home is a challenge in


nov/dec 2023


HIGH POINT


“The whole process! We loved popping on site and seeing the progress each week.”


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