Hive of industry
Reclaimed materials lend an industrial look to this old barn, now converted into a spacious and unique family home
How a Yorkshire barn was turned into a unique and spacious home
Even though he’d lived in the area for most of his life, Alex Main had no idea Lingfield Barn existed until the day he and his wife Emma glimpsed the set of old farm buildings lying just behind some high hedges outside the tiny village of Cattal in North Yorkshire. ‘We weren’t looking for a project at the time,’ says Emma, 36, a full-time mum. ‘It was an empty brick shell, but as soon as we saw it we loved it!’
The Mains discovered the barn was for sale and there was to be an open viewing. ‘When we went along, there were about 50 people also interested, so we expected it would be way out of our league,’ explains Alex, 35, the director of a kitchen design company. There then followed a lengthy process that involved a written application, an interview with the vendor who lived next door, and a final blind bid. Much to their astonishment, Emma and Alex’s offer was accepted.
At the time, the couple were living in a Victorian terraced house in nearby Kirk Hammerton with their daughters, Olivia, now eight, and Martha, now six. They sold up and moved into the stable while the barn underwent a nine-month transformation, turning it from a shell into a warm and spacious four-bedroom family home. Things were made a bit more complicated because Emma was pregnant at the time, but just as the barn became a home, little Hazel, now one, was born.
Inspired by city warehouse living and its industrial, stripped-back look, and rather than opting for lots of rooms, the couple focused on creating large open spaces where they could entertain guests.
‘We could have easily accommodated five or six bedrooms,’ says Alex, ‘but we chose to have four that were much bigger; that way the kids can always share when people stay over for the night.’
With Alex’s background in the kitchen design company his parents founded in 1978, it’s fitting that this room has become the hub of the house. Shelves have been crafted from vintage teak cheeseboards and the striking units have been constructed from reclaimed wood, sourced from a mill in Oldham. ‘It gives the most amazing weathered finishes that you could never create yourself,’ says Alex.
An industrial-style concrete floor works perfectly with the units.
‘You can easily spend a ridiculous amount on a floor – but we just asked our builder to polish it up. We wanted it to crack, to look like a factory with a real rawness,’ says Alex. ‘We think the cracking effect adds to the character and rusticity of the look.’
Emma and Alex are keen cooks and encourage the children to make the most of the kitchen too. ‘When they’re not outside in the
garden playing on their bikes and scooters, they’re inside experimenting with different foods. We’re not precious about the stainless-steel worktops because the more scratches on them, the better they look. We like that the children are leaving their mark,’ explains Emma.
Next to the kitchen, the open-plan dining area extends into the roof space, while floor-to-ceiling windows accentuate the sense of openness. This large space is decorated in pale greys and taupe, with flashes of colour from books and houseplants. It has a long dining table that once belonged to a convent. ‘Usually we’d have to go to Newark Antiques Fair or even London to find those kinds of treasures, but we discovered it at an antique place just down the road,’ says Alex. Above it hangs a fascinating light installation of 27 filament light bulbs. ‘We wanted to give the impression of a natural chandelier suspended from the rafters. You can sit beneath the lights and watch them for hours,’ says Alex.
At the other end of the space is a large sofa where the family gather to watch films projected onto the vast white wall. ‘It’s such a great idea,’ says Emma. ‘During the day it’s just a blank wall but switch the projector on and it creates a completely different atmosphere with a huge screen.’ The family also has a snug sitting room at the other end of the house with a woodburning stove, squashy sofas and a sheepskin rug that the girls love to lounge on.
Alex and Emma were keen to retain as many of the barn’s original features as possible, including the brick pillars in the kitchen between the glazed panels, the exposed lighting conduit on the ceiling above the kitchen island and the steel A-frames in the girls’ bedrooms upstairs.
The bathrooms feature exposed mixed-metal piping taps and reclaimed marble sinks with plenty more reclaimed wood. ‘With my job, I’m lucky enough to be able to cherry-pick unusual items, but you have to be quick as when they’re gone, they’re gone!
The added bonus is, it makes you think more creatively about how things will work together,’ says Alex.
Despite not being able to include all the elements they’d wished for – coveted Crittall windows would have increased the budget by more than £150,000 – Alex and Emma still regard their renovation as a resounding success. ‘It’s been quite a daunting experience, and there were stumbling blocks and compromises along the way, but if we did it again, we wouldn’t change a thing,’ says Alex.