Welcome to my home
Tracy Head, who is co-founder of Vintage Barn Interiors and founder of Little Red Heart, and her husband Steve, a marketing director for a power supply company, live here with their sons Toby, 16, and Max, 13.
The property
A new-build, three-bed barn with an annexe. “We put our heart and soul into building this place and wouldn’t change a thing”
Living in a barn conversion was a dream of mine,’ says Tracy Head. ‘I kept a photo of one I had found in a magazine and fallen in love with – it totally inspired me.’ Tracy was living in an Edwardian house in a suburb of Reading with her husband Steve and sons Toby and Max when they decided it was time to move to a barn. ‘We looked throughout the area but there weren’t any around.’
Then the couple came across a Colt timber-framed bungalow that was in a rural location not far away. ‘We fell in love with the area – it was in pretty countryside, but within easy reach of Henley-onthames and trains to London. We came down the track to the house to view it and it felt secluded, as if it was a million miles from anywhere. We loved the bungalow – there was a definite charm about it.’
Tracy and Steve bought the house. ‘Initially we had hoped to renovate it and make it more barn style – we had renovated our Edwardian house so we had some experience. But when we started looking at renovating it, we realised it was very basic and would cost more to renovate than it would to rebuild it.’ So the decision was taken to knock down the house and start again with
their own design, with the help of an architect. ‘Because we were living here, we knew where the light came in and where we wanted to live and work. For instance, the kitchen was where the family room is now, but there was much more light in the middle of the house, so we swapped them around to get a light-filled kitchen.’
The architect came up with a design for the barn and planning permission went smoothly. ‘We built on the existing footprint,’ says Tracy, ‘and were considerate of our neighbours by building a one-and-a-half storey property rather than two storey. I knew what I wanted – the architect designed the shell and I did the rest. It had been in my head for a long time!’ For example, Tracy found an image of a staircase she liked on Pinterest and the architect designed it with a curved brick wall. The stairs were then made on site by carpenters, who cut the treads to size from pieces of solid oak flooring.
The family lived in a three-bedroom annexe, which was built first, for the 20 months it took to build the main barn. ‘We pared everything down and lived simply,’ says Tracy. ‘It was great for bonding considering it was such a small space, but we had to be very organised.’ Tracy employed a project manager and used subcontractors
when needed, which worked well. ‘The project manager was amazing. I knew what I wanted and sourced things myself, but he sorted out all the technical stuff. The finished house is eco efficient with solar panels and thick insulation. ‘Although it’s very open plan, we’ve been able to keep the heating costs low. We have log burners and love them – they’re really cosy,’ says Tracy.
‘I planned the look at the start of the build so it was cohesive. Everything was decided as soon as we were digging the foundations – even down to the colours of the doors. We had to make a decision about the flooring early on so that gave me the impetus to plan everything.’ Having founded two homeware businesses, when it came to the interior of the property, Tracy had a clear idea of what she wanted to achieve. She teamed industrial elements with painted furniture and several finds from Vintage Barn Interiors, to create a chic modern country look. ‘It’s so cosy in winter but great in summer, too, because it’s south-facing,’ she says.
The family have settled into the area now: ‘We love the beautiful countryside and the friendly village community. We’re lucky enough to have an award-winning shop, an excellent pub and a butcher who sells amazing produce.’