scenic view
Set in the breathtaking Cotswolds countryside, this converted barn has to be seen to be believed
Happy with their lovely woodland home, Susi Jones told her late husband Tony that she would only ever move if they found a property with a better view, sheep at the bottom of the garden and an Aga. So she took a lot of persuading to look at a barn conversion he had spotted in the For Sale section of a newspaper. ‘I was so surprised to walk around the house and find everything on my wish list,’ says Susi. ‘I fell in love with it straight away. And it was so cosy, too, even though it had once been a hay barn and was 300 years old.’
The property had been neglected, so the couple knew they were embarking on a major project. ‘It was very dark inside,’ says Susi. ‘A huge oak beam in the kitchen effectively cut the room in half, blocking light and making it feel like a stable. In fact, the whole house needed a complete rethink.’
The Joneses knocked down walls on both floors to make bigger rooms or to create
bathrooms, extra windows were installed and the layout was rearranged to make better use of the space. Then Susi set about tackling the kitchen, which had been gutted. ‘I decided on a fairly traditional design that was in keeping with the style of the barn,’ she says. ‘And because I entertain a lot, I had a central island installed where friends can sit and chat while I prepare a meal. I needed extra storage, too, so I turned the cellar into a walk-in larder.
The easy-on-the-eye neutral palette of the kitchen is followed in the rest of the house. ‘I love cool hues,’ says Susi. ‘They are so easy to live with, but I also needed to add colour, which I did using fabric, rugs and accessories. I had a vision of the look I wanted to achieve – a classic country style. Luckily, the furniture from our previous house fitted in perfectly. I did, however, have to have new curtains made, but I recycled the old ones.’
Susi is delighted with the end result. ‘It’s a lovely area to live in and it’s easy to drive into the big towns,’ she says, ‘ but I love going home. It’s everything I wanted and much more.’
‘Using a neutral palette for walls and flooring throughout the house allowed me to add warmth with soft furnishings in a variety of delicate colours and prints’