This creative barn conversion is a great example of architecture at its most powerful

Can architecture make you a happier, healthier person? This may sound the sort of erudite matter debated by the likes of Alain de Botton and other philosophical eggheads – something divorced from the reality of bricks, mortar, and the everyday pressures of doing a self-build – but for one family, it’s a question they were forced to consider on the most practical and personal levels.

Philip and Angela Traill had the quintessential urban existence, living happily but busily in central London, until the bottom fell out of their world when Philip was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It wasn’t possible to operate, so all the medics could do was regularly monitor his condition. They recommended that Philip went home, took it easy, and did nothing. Resignation is not in their nature. They researched alternative therapy approaches and immediately adopted a vitamin-laden vegan diet, as well as deciding to relocate to give Philip the healthiest lifestyle possible. With daughters Helena and Amelia, they moved into a small cottage on land belonging to Philip’s parents in rural Surrey.

Next to the cottage, a threshing barn dating from 1840 stood empty, almost asking to be converted. So, despite the warnings to do nothing, they decided to take on a self-build. Their drive was to create a healthy home; one where the spaces created, the materials used and the lifestyle generated all promoted well-being. Even the process itself was a therapeutic exercise. ‘Philip is a very driven person. It helped him to have a goal, a challenge,’ Angela says. ‘And it was providing a home for his family, which is central, something he needed to do.’

But it wasn’t done the easy way. The couple set themselves a rigorous 26- week programme – and miraculously stuck to it. And it wasn’t simple. Philip and Angela knew they wanted something which embraced twenty-first century design while respecting the character of the nineteenth-century building – and created a comfortable, practical family home. They found the expertise necessary to design this in the shape of architect Damien Blower of Stedman Blower Architects. ‘We saw the work he did on his sister’s house, with a curved wall,’ Angela remembers. ‘We loved it! We said, “give us curves!”’ And his conversion does. It retains the cavernous main space of the barn but adds modern, curving insertions at either end to hold bedrooms and bathrooms. Clean, white and almost space age, the large open-plan living room, with its floating pods, curving helical stairs and swooping hanging walkway, is a real show-stopper.

The effect is breathtaking but feels like a natural fit, the modern interior nestling within its historic context like a hermit crab sidling into a cast-off shell. Old and new are clearly delineated, but do not clash; the new structures are self-supporting, and the ancient fabric of the building has been painstakingly restored. This was not an easy job. The barn had to be stripped back to its skeleton, additional columns inserted, walls rebuilt, the roof dismantled and re-clad with the old tiles – all this before any of the ‘new’ work could start. Bespoke steel beams formed into carefully measured curves create the bones of the new structures, covered with timber and plasterboard. Th e old stable block was demolished and rebuilt with many of the original materials to form the kitchen, forming an L-shape with the main barn. Combining restoration and new-build, traditional skills and cutting-edge engineering, it was a complex project.

Born organiser Philip co-ordinated many elements of the project himself, whipping his Palm Pilot out during filming to demonstrate to Kevin how it contained everything necessary to keep the project running. He and Angela both lived every second of the build, always on site and taking an active part in decision-making. ‘He’s a complete perfectionist,’ Angela says, remembering how they piled crates to the exact height of their bed and lay on them to judge exactly where the window in the master bedroom should be placed, so that they got the best view of the village church where they were married.

Towards the end of the build, the couple installed miles of cable by hand, all of which connects back to the utility room. This looks more like NASA mission control, with wall-mounted boxes controlling lighting, heating, security, fi re warning, sound and IT systems throughout the house. ‘The systems aren’t just for the sake of it,’ Philip explains. ‘Th e building is wooden and has extremely high ceilings, so your average smoke alarm won’t work well. And the hi-tech heating and lighting systems mean we always remember to switch lights off , and that the house stays at the temperature we want.’

The budget crept £50,000 over their initial estimates to hit £450,000, but the Traills and their team managed to bring the build in on time, keeping to their rigorous 26-week schedule. Despite the pressure of such a project, it’s apparent that the experience was one neither Philip or Angela regret for a second. Their pride in the house is palpable, and warranted, but it’s also evident that they enjoy the day-to-day experience of living in it. The spacious wooden kitchen was designed in the knowledge that they’d spend plenty of time there; Philip is on a diet where he drinks six specially blended fresh fruit and vegetable juices a day.

The main space isn’t just fascinating to look at, it’s also wonderfully social – the girls play their piano there, and it held 90 people at the couple’s black tie and slippers house-warming party (a trick which has ensured their wooden floors look five days rather than five years old). And the small, cosy study forms a den where the whole family can curl up in front of the television – though it elicited horror from Kevin when he discovered that this traditional rectangular room is Philip’s favourite!

Now the couple have really settled in, and furnished the house with an eclectic mix of new and old which is rather fitting in the context. A large, low-backed, L-shaped sofa in a regal purple is unashamedly modern – but behind it hangs an ornate, gilt-framed eighteenth-century portrait of one of Philip’s ancestors. ‘We just filled the house with things we liked, rather than trying to go for a look, or follow a trend,’ Angela explains. Five years on, and the Traills are living the happy, healthy life they planned for. Part of it is undeniably down to diet and location, but the house itself, and the experience of building it, has definitely played a huge part. ‘It’s our space, and we chose everything – every colour, every texture,’ Philip says. ‘I walk in and get an enormous sense of well-being.’ The family are a living, breathing testament that architecture really can change your life.

Useful Contacts

Architect Stedman Blower Architect: www.stedmanblower.co.uk
Architect Elspeth Beard Architects: www.elspethbeardarchitects.co.uk
Building contractor Peter Shoesmith: 01483 210 250
Helical stairs Spiral Staircase Systems: www.spiralstairs.co.uk
Timber preservation Peter Cox: www.petercox.com
Timber sandblasting FTG Blast Cleaning Services: 01252 811 652
Bespoke steel windows West Leigh: www.west-leigh.co.uk
Steel work A J Fabrications: www.ajfabs-ltd.co.uk
Bespoke sliding glazed window Vista-Brunswick: www.vista-brunswick.co.uk
Oak flooring UK Wood Floors: www.ukwoodfloors.co.uk
Architectural lights Deltalight: www.deltalight.co.uk
Lighting control solutions iLight: www.ilight.co.uk
Temperature control system Smarthome Controls: www.smarthomecontrols.co.uk
Kitchen and bathroom units Designer Woodwork: 01730 828 440
Kitchen worksurfaces Kirkstone Quarries: www.kirkstone.com
Security system Secom: www.secom.plc.uk
Taps and showers Vola: www.vola.co.uk
Sofa Attic 2: www.attic2.co.uk

Words: Joanna Booth Images: Elizabeth Zeschin