Architecture Wednesday: The Old Barn

Once a farm building, The Old Barn is now a remarkable six-bedroom home that sits in an elevated plot with commanding views over the quiet village of Chelsworth, Suffolk. The design embraces its pastoral setting while establishing a contemporary style. Exposed materials are celebrated throughout, with an impressive triple-height timber structure, original brickwork, and plywood elements.

To preserve the architectural integrity of the building, the main barn was kept as a single volume, its original oak frame restored and integrated with new sections of French oak. Sheets of weatherboard plywood clad the interior, and the roof has been rebuilt with lightweight steel truss supports.

The main entry is to an impressive ante-room, where brick floor pavers and concrete walls set an authentic appeal set against a bank of yellow door fronts that open to reveal handy storage, utility facilities, and a small powder room.

A pair of symmetrically positioned stairs sweep up to the open-plan reception area in the main section where you find those dramatic full-height ceilings. Expansive windows reach upward from the former barn door to extend across portions of the roof flooding the room with light. Limestone floors with underfloor heating ground the space which is arranged centrally around a large dining area with a bespoke kitchen beyond.

Professional stainless-steel units are configured as a U-shaped island, with easy-to-maintain surfaces, raised plug sockets and seating space at the opposite end that is oriented toward low-level slit windows that frame panoramic views of the landscape. At the opposite end of the great space is the double-height living area with exposed original beams and slit windows to frame the views. The great room opens onto a generous terrace with an outdoor dining area and a barbecue.

A white-painted wall marks the boundary between the main section and the four-story extension that houses all six bedrooms. The principal suite is discreetly positioned on the lower ground floor with direct access to the garden. East-facing panels draw in the soft morning light. A set of curtains opens to an en suite with a round spa bathtub, built-in wardrobes, and a door to a separate water closet. 

One of the bedrooms on the ground floor also has an en suite bathroom, along with access to a small balcony. There are three more bedrooms on the first floor, and another en suite bedroom on the second floor. A pristine additional bathroom on the first floor has a bathtub, ideal for long soaks.

The house is immersed in well-maintained private grounds of around an acre, mainly laid to lawn and interspersed with established trees and planted sections. To the front, the private driveway has space for parking multiple cars.

The Old Barn can be yours for just £1.550M or $2.075M USD.

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The Modern House

Architecture Wednesday: Tan y Coed

Wisteria trails elegantly over this Welsh stone longhouse, built in 1800,  located in a serene valley in Oswestry, Tan y Coed [‘under the trees’] and surrounded by the bucolic Candy Woods. It was carefully renovated to create a series of bright, open spaces. Outside is a separate one-bedroom guest house as well as a studio space, and a geodesic dome greenhouse.

Tan y Coed is a brilliant example of a Welsh longhouse; traditionally designed to house livestock—either cows or sheep—on the ground floor with living accommodations on the first, these houses are found across Wales and the rest of the country.

Beyond the front gate, a spacious driveway approaches the house where a path leads to the two main points of access: the formal entrance which sits underneath a porch, and a more frequently used side entrance, which leads directly into an open-plan kitchen, dining area, and living area.

The kitchen is composed of white cabinets and wood countertops and white-brick tiled backsplash set against original wooden floors. Beyond the kitchen is the oak, garden room extension, bathed in light throughout the day through the stretches of glazing on three sides and warmed by the underfloor heating beneath the slate floor.

A more formal dining room lies beyond in the original part of the house with parquet floors and a wood-burning stove; from there you enter an expansive sitting room, which also has wooden floors and an original inglenook—a small nook or alcove adjoining a fireplace—that is now home to a wood-burning stove; original exposed beams run the length of the ceiling overhead.

A set of contemporary open-tread stairs leads upstairs to the sleeping quarters; the principal bedroom has a bright en suite bathroom with a shower and access to a generous balcony while three further bedrooms are positioned on this floor, served by a shared bathroom. 

Behind the house, a barn has been converted into a one-bedroom guesthouse, constructed from the same Welsh stone as the house, equipped with a downstairs kitchen downstairs and a raised living space on the first floor. To the other side of the house, near the driveway, is a large new block that houses two open carports, a garage underneath and an open-plan room above, currently used as a gym.

And the gardens that surround the house are planted with thousands of daffodils, wild garlic and raised vegetable beds; a stream meanders from the end of the garden lawn towards the house, which fronts onto a pond where a new terrace raised on stilts sits above the water.

It all seems idyllic and peaceful and worth the £1.1M price tag considering it’s already been sold.

The Spaces

Architecture Wednesday: San Francisco Oasis

I love San Francisco; I have lived in San Francisco. And if I had the coins I’d be living in this house in San Francisco; in this most remarkable modern oasis that is unlike any home. Located South of Market, and sited behind unassuming concrete walls and doors of steel is a most tranquil retreat.

When you walk through the doors you enter into your own never-before-seen private park, a haven of mature trees and lush botanicals. On the left is a set of oversized casement windows, with French doors that open to a dramatic foyer. Inside, soaring wooden ceilings unite adjacent rooms and skylights while three sets of large glass walls visually extend the living space to the verdant outdoors while floors of warm, polished concrete suggest the casual sophistication of urban living.

At centerstage lies the living room—accented by a large skylight and a fireplace. At one of the sets of glass casement windows, the dining area becomes al fresco with the opening of French doors. A bright, modern kitchen, with substantial countertops and storage, fuels entertaining lies just behind the living area. A large library or home office or secondary living area is sunlit by a skylight and a third set of large casement windows. At the front of the home sliding doors of frosted glass open to the ensuite bedroom with a fireplace & spa-like bathroom with dual vanities and a glass-enclosed shower. Plus, there is tandem off-street parking for three cars in an oasis in the midst of one of the greatest cities on Earth and at just $4.6M.

Now where did I put my checkbook?

As always click to emBIGGERate …

Dwell