When designing a layout it’s easy to forget to plan for storage. With a barn conversion the challenge is heightened (often literally) as we often design in full height, full length / full width open spaces that subsume those areas of the home we utilise for storage in more traditional houses (the attic, under the stairs etc.) into the main habitable volumes of the building.

In ‘A Pattern Language’ Christopher Alexander tells us to give 15-20% of the volume of the building to bulk storage.

Plan for dedicated storage rooms, shelving up through double height rooms, raised cabin beds with large storage spaces above and below…

Consider the local vernacular. When converting or renovating you’ll already have a great reference point in the building itself and others close-by of a similar age.

So, in East Anglia, a wheat straw thatched roof is a appropriate choice just as are brick and flint walls in Wiltshire or a cross-over slate lintel on a house in North Wales.

Of course your local planning office may have differing opinions, having decided on a local ‘style’ – rendered walls with stone corners for example, that is not actually in keeping with the local vernacular at all … don’t forget to pick your fights wisely …

When working with an old building maintaining its integrity is essential. One of the cornerstones to the integrity of a building is the materials from which it is built and with which it is maintained and the techniques applied to those materials.

Choose your palette carefully – natural stone, slate, local timber, lime mortar …

Then ensure these materials are used in a sympathetic manner…

Most conversion projects involve the division of large functional spaces in smaller, habitable spaces. But keep the space & enjoy it … allow for a full height atrium, keep large open plan living spaces, divide spaces with furnishings, temporary dividers or screens rather than solid, immoveable walls.

Avoid the desire for that extra bedroom or reception room – may as well buy a new build!

The opportunities for truly engaging with and implementing Passive Solar Design may be minimal on a conversion project – the orientation of the building is set and there may be limited opportunities for large glazed openings that can provide optimal solar gain.

But do what you can to maximise (openings) and manage (through materials, colours, blinds and shutters) your solar gain – it makes sense!