Dreams Do Come True

A Country Girl at Heart, Annuszka Ornbo Has Made Sure Her Beautiful Renovated Barn Is All About Living Indoors and Out

- Vivienne Ayers

For 15 years, London had been the perfect home, but when children came along Annuszka Ornbo and her husband, Sam, craved being outdoors. ‘We didn’t have a lot of green spaces nearby and spent each weekend travelling further and further afield to find the perfect spot,’ says Annuszka. Within 12 months of buying their dream London home they sold it to move to Buckinghamshire.

‘We both grew up in the countryside and had great memories of our childhoods. I had cows at the bottom of the garden and we grew fruit and vegetables, and Sam lived in a flint cottage with a stream flowing past. We wanted our children to have similar childhoods.’

So Annuszka and Sam drew a circle on a map an hour from their workplace in Soho, as they didn’t want to have a long commute.

Unable to find a property to buy, they rented in Oxfordshire and waited. ‘We found houses that were almost perfect, but had to rule them out. For instance, we found a lovely period cottage but we couldn’t buy it because it had low ceilings and we’re both tall.’

Then, after almost a year of searching, Sam found a converted barn in Buckinghamshire. ‘The photos looked terrible, but the floor plans were promising so we went to view it,’ says Annuszka. ‘There were faded velvet curtains and linoleum everywhere. But the space was incredible. We knew it could be the perfect family house.’