NEW HORIZONS
Glass, wood and steel sit beautifully together in Sarah Mitchell-smith’s barn conversion, which features striking proportions and sweeping views
When family circumstances prompted a move from Oxfordshire to Warwickshire, Sarah Mitchell-smith set her heart on an elegant, period village house. Just before completion, the purchase unexpectedly fell through, sending Sarah, her husband James, and 11-year-old son Rob, back to the drawing board.
‘We’d heard of a large, steel-framed, agricultural barn on the market, with planning permission in place to turn it into a home,’ says Sarah, ‘James was keen to go for it, but it certainly wasn’t the period house I’d had in mind, and although we do have building and renovating experience, I wasn’t sure about taking on such a big challenge.’
However, the barn’s peaceful location, unspoiled views and extraordinary potential won Sarah over, and she put her mind to transforming it from a vast, functional structure into a comfortable family home. She started by revising the existing interior plans, to make more of the barn’s unique opportunities.
‘We altered the layout so that the enormous height creates impact as you come in, and the main living areas look over the fields,’ she says, ‘I also cut down on windows and added a mezzanine level to boost the usable wall and floor space.’
Sarah’s clever eye for design (@glendinning_design), allowed her to divide the huge space into manageable zones, while still highlighting the striking
proportions. She used a contemporary look throughout, combining green and grey tones and concrete flooring with natural wood, glass and metals,
‘I wanted to avoid the interior feeling like a warehouse, but at the same, I had to acknowledge that this had been a utilitarian building, not a picturesque stone barn,’ she says, ‘The greens were inspired by the original corrugated cladding, and the steel structure’s clearly visible inside.’
Such a large space presented particular problems, and budgeting proved to be one of Sarah’s greatest challenges.
‘Outlay on hidden things like insulation and building materials was huge,’ she says. ‘Our finances came under pressure before I started furnishing and decorating, but I didn’t want to compromise on the look. I had to find ways to make the money go further.’
Most of the couple’s furniture had been sold, as it would have been too small for their new home, so Sarah was starting from scratch. To maximise her budget, she patiently trawled online auction sites specialising in designer pieces, and managed to fill the rooms with high-spec but affordable furniture. Quotes from UK sources for key features like the black metal-framed glass partitions, floating, glass-walled staircase and suspended walkway were also beyond her pocket, so she approached Chinese manufacturers online. Over several months, time invested in meticulous measuring and careful communications paid off, as she successfully imported all the glass, wood and metal components at a fraction of the original costs.
‘It was a gamble and I couldn’t afford any mistakes, but everything arrived in perfect condition,’ she says, ‘I even used a tracking app to follow the ship’s progress from China.’
Under Sarah’s creative projectmanagement, the barn went from functional farm building to stunning, luxurious home in about nine months. The family is now well settled here and there are no plans to move in the future.
‘This project has given me a huge sense of achievement, and we all love living here now,’ she says, ‘It really feels like home.’
The barn is available as a location – visit uklocations.co.uk