A Sagging Barn Is Now a Spacious Rustic Home

Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada
Church Farm Barn: 5 bedroom home planned with archaeological and protected species surveys, Beech Architects Beech Architects Country house
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The talented team at Beech Architects have done it again, they've been able to transform a sagging, forgotten barn into a warm countryside home, adding modern luxuries while still preserving the original framework and feel of its farmyard origins. Filled with soft light, smooth textures, and warm woods, this stunning reno job shines a spotlight on the beauty of antiquated architecture! Time to explore!

The Old Barn

In order to truly appreciate the new family home, it's important to get a glimpse of the starter: here it is! This rusty shed is what the architect team began with. In fact, there are two structures here: a larger wooden barn, situated closely to a clay shed. Although it's not the classic image of a welcoming home, this shed actually holds a lot of potential: the tile roof is still in great shape, which is the reason why this structure has remained standing for as long as it has! Likewise, the wooden beams that provide the basic infrastructure of the building remain intact. 

The New Barn

Here, the original floor plan has been conserved, and no height or additional floors have been required in the renovation of this home. The main barn openings still remain in their original places and now serve as welcoming spaces for accessing the front and back yards. As shown here, these new entrances have been hand framed in oak—a lovely traditional wood for such a traditional structure.

Joining Two Structures

The clay lump barn and wooden barn shown here have been cleverly connected with a white rendered link, which now serves as a welcoming entryway to the home. This white structure is now a great highlight of the home, offering a bright balance to the rest of the structures that adopt deeper, darker tones.

An Open Concept Layout

Although it's spacious, modern, and lofty, this new interior still maintains a the sense of the old times with a centrally placed wood stove that occupies the heart of the room. To the right, a television screen takes a backseat, in keeping with this room's focus on traditional, rustic, and natural elements. Throughout the large open concept living room, the original flint and brick walls have repaired with the frame and then highly insulated. In places where the walls have been, tall glazed windows stand in their place, turning a functional storage building into a lighthearted and sunlight living space.

If you enjoy the way this barn has become a spacious country home, have a look at this tour of another stylish country home!

The Kitchen

The kitchen has been place underneath the lowered ceiling (with master bedroom and bathroom above), affording the cooking area a more intimate and enclosed space than the lofty living room. It's a highly practical space that not only features ample counter space, but a large range, two ovens, and two sinks to boot! 

All existing oak knees of the original structure were left exposed, and so the architects installed oak worktops in the kitchen to match the main barn oak structure. The kitchen range and fridge are two elements of this kitchen that have altered the original structures shape, as they've been worked into recesses in the walls themselves. 

Looking for more stylish country kitchens? This ideabook has a list of 10!

Warm Dining Area

Between the living room and the kitchen, this well-placed dining room enjoys a conveniently central location. It's friendly location is enhanced by the soft and warm look of the smooth wooden table, which instills a feeling of establishment with its sturdy rectangular design. One notable design element of this dining area is the way that the architects have linked the dining area with the kitchen by using the repetition of three hanging lamps in both spaces, creating a central theme that unifies both areas. 

Upper Floor: Bedroom

The bedroom enjoys a quiet nook in the upper floor of the newly renovated home. The most interesting aspect of this room is the way that the original beam has been kept in place, now serving as a sort of shelf, bench, and step that runs across the doorway to the bedroom. It's unconventional, but with its slightly warped appearance, it certainly does provide a taste of the aged, established feel that this traditional structure affords!

Bathroom

This room was once a spot for storing heaps of potatoes—now it's a modern bathroom, complete with wet room shower and freestanding bath. All existing walls were kept in place, and with the tub cleverly pushed up against one of these walls, the architects have turned what could be an awkward extension of the wall into a convenient partition that shelters the bath and creates a sense of privacy between the shower one on side and the bathtub on the other. Once again, rich wooden textures have been worked into this room, featured in the bathtub shelf that houses the newly-installed faucet as well as in the showers own walls!

Love this barn reno? Then travel to Japan for a tour of another incredible renovation job of an outdated outbuilding.

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