Something I’m grateful to the planners for is the internal flue from the stove. If I’d had an option, without thinking, I’d probably have placed it outside running up the wall externally and in doing so lost an awful lot of heat. Instead, as required by the planners (my plans didn’t show where the flue ran and I was ‘informed’ that a reapplication for an external flue was likely to be rejected) it runs internally and keeps the bedroom (more of a store room at the moment) that it passes through lovely and warm with heat we’d otherwise have lost.

From Barn Conversion 2011

I was originally worried that it would be an eye-sore, but I quite like it – an industrial touch in a rural setting.

From Barn Conversion 2011

We invested a lot of money in wood when converting the barn. The stairs, doors and window frames have all been pricey items. Each involved a number of decisions – hardwood or softwood, oak or pine, painted or treated, natural or stained … Suffice to say that the decision made was rarely on the side of the cheap option. I’m happy with (but poorer because of) the results:

From Barn Conversion 2010

From Barn Conversion 2010

From Barn Conversion 2010

On the last picture you can see how the ball on the top of the newel post has begun to get shiny from use…

There are a number of places in the barn where the rough pointed internal wall joins up to a smooth plastered and painted wall or ceiling. This is one of problems that is common to conversion projects – where original materials or new materials added to replace or improve original features butt up against modern finishes or materials.

From Clean Lines

I’ve painstakingly filled such gaps in the barn with a matt finish flexible filler. Done by hand with a small trowel this is a fiddly time consuming process but one that I think is worthwhile as a solution to those potentially nagging gaps.

It’s been a very cold Winter so far…

But at least it’s warm inside!

So far in this series of my favourite things at the barn I’ve focussed on original features, this is the first of the new features we’ve introduced during the conversion.

We chose these oak beams instead of steels to support the first floor for a couple of reasons. From a ‘healthy house’ perspective we minimised the use of metal in the building and aesthetically the oak beams help maintain an attractive link to the buildings history.

There are two beams in the main room of the barn – each weighing in at around 3/4 of a tonne. It will be nice to see them sanded and finished as they are currently water stained and blackened, but still attractive to the eye.