RUSTIC REINVENTION

Faced with a lacklustre barn conversion, Marisa Lumley-Holmes maximised its good bones and rustic finishes to transform it into a unique modern home that's bursting with style and inspiration

- LAURA EWART

After living in a new-build house, the prospect of reimagining a converted barn with all its character and potential gave Marisa LumleyHolmes and her husband Chris Shaw a wonderful challenge.

We were definitely on the lookout for a project to put our own stamp and style on,' says Marisa, an interior designer. "And this place had been renovated in the 1990s but hadn't really been maintained since then, so needed more work than we anticipated.' 

Although they kept much of the layout of the house as it was, the kitchen was in a building attached to the main property. It made sense to knock through to this area and alter the size of the downstairs bathroom to create one large open-plan kitchen/diner/living room. The back of the space was then opened up and bifold doors were fitted to let more light flood in. It was a lot of work, but worth it in the end to ensure we created a home that worked exactly as we wanted it to,' says Marisa.

They then turned their attention to the kitchen area, which needed insulation, re-roofing, new windows and new doors. The cabinetry was chosen from York Vale Kitchens, a local company that was able to build it to the couple's own specification and within their budget. The plan was to make the best use of the available space and I think we have done that, as now we spend most of our time here,' Marisa says.