HOME GROWN

Joolz and Tim Wright updated their rambling family farmhouse with a relaxed style on a strict budget

- SEÁN O’CONNELL

Two decades ago, with Joolz and Tim Wright’s young family outgrowing their cottage, the couple realised they needed more space – and luckily the solution was close at hand. Tim’s parents wanted to downsize so they swapped their farmhouse for a smaller home on the farm, while Joolz, Tim and their three children moved in.

‘Without wanting to change the character of the farmhouse, which was structurally sound, the priority was to turn it into a modern family home,’ says Joolz. ‘The warren of tiny rooms and the fact that the house is set into a hillside made it very dark.’

To help give their home a more open feel the couple knocked down a wall between the sitting room and kitchen to create a large family space. And over the next 10 years they installed new central heating and wiring, and removed features such as the 1970s fireplaces. ‘In the family room, we built an inglenook with woodburner, which turned it into a lovely cocooning space,’ says Joolz. Upstairs, two box rooms and a cloakroom were reconfigured to become the master bedroom with en suite.