KENT BARN CONVERSION
By combining vintage treasures with globetrotting finds, Leanne Chandler has brought a holiday mood to her family’s Kent home
Vintage finds and travel souvenirs abound in this character-filled, timber-clad family home
❝ WE’RE BOTH COLLECTORS BUT LUKE IS MORE INTO GRITTY SALVAGE ITEMS AND I ERR TOWARDS A MORE NOSTALGIC LOOK. IT’S A GOOD COMBINATION❞
Leanne Chandler’s converted barn and stables lie at the end of a sun-dappled lane in the Kent countryside; a setting that is quintessentially English. Yet, inside, she has combined all she loves about vintage style with decorative twists that originate further from home. ‘A lot of my inspiration is from a family trip we took just before we embarked on this renovation,’ she says. The family spent two months travelling around Asia, Australia and New Zealand, where Leanne soaked up plenty of ideas to bring back.
This long, timber-clad building was forged from three outbuildings – a barn, some stables and two garages – that came with a 16th-century farmhouse, which she and her husband Luke bought four years ago. The family initially lived in the farmhouse then, two years ago, they were able to make the short hop over the drive to this home and Leanne’s parents took over the farmhouse.
When Leanne first viewed the derelict barn, she was able to envisage the special space it would become once renovated into a home. ‘As soon as I saw the tall ceiling I said, “This could be our family kitchen”,’ she remembers.
As the outbuildings weren’t listed, planning permission was fairly straightforward and they also applied to add a one-room extension in a sympathetic style. This is the family’s winter garden room, a sunlit and foliage-filled dining space that feels like a rather upscale potting shed.
Before buying the farmhouse and its outbuildings, Leanne and Luke rented for many years. ‘I’ve always been a frustrated interior designer, so by the time we bought this place I had a whole set of moodboards at the ready,’ she says.
The kitchen uses high-impact monochrome, but also has plenty of rustic materials that suit the building’s barn roots. ‘When we were travelling, I fell in love with Australian interiors, especially ones that combine natural textures with sharper graphic shapes,’ says
Leanne. The bold black and white bar stools were a style she spotted in Byron Bay, while the oversized pendant shades were a Bali find, which Leanne now sells via her company Milk & Honey Vintage. ‘Travel is a great way to step back from a project and open yourself up to new design ideas,’ she explains.
Plenty of finishing touches, however, were bought at nearby vintage fairs and shops in Kent and East Sussex. ‘We’re both collectors but Luke is more into gritty industrial salvage items and I err towards a more nostalgic look. It’s a good combination,’ she adds.
Surfaces are a mix of modern micro cement floors and walls clad in old scaffolding planks (a perk of Luke working in the construction industry), set against floral wallpapers that add just the right amount of impact. Where there are bare bricks, Leanne gave the surfaces a wash of diluted paint to create an aged effect.
Overall, this is a family home that is robust enough for life with two boys and three pets, but also retains an escapist air, through nostalgic vintage finds and more exotic items. ‘If I can recreate a holiday mood in our home that lasts all year round, that makes me very happy,’ Leanne says.
❝IF I CAN RECREATE A HOLIDAY MOOD IN OUR HOME THAT LASTS ALL YEAR ROUND, THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY❞