In our new series ‘My Modern House’ we’re revisiting some of the properties we’ve previously sold, to hear first-hand from the owners what it’s like to live in some of the UK’s most exceptional living spaces.

The Long Barn is a fantastic example of exciting, innovative architecture, set within the idyllic Wiltshire village of Berwick St. James. It was originally designed in 2001 as a home and studio space by the Swiss-born architect Hans Klaentschi and his wife Paula Klaentschi who were seeking a light, open space without the restrictions of a traditional house layout. Upon its completion the barn was widely published in design and architecture books and journals as an exemplary property of its type.

Harry and his mother Kate have been living in the Long Barn for over two years, having first discovered it in the late spring of 2014 and moved in shortly after. For Harry and Kate, converting the barn has been a labour of love and an opportunity to impress their own personal style onto the space. For Harry, an emerging interior designer specialising in contemporary seating, converting the barn was a particularly exciting experience. We caught up with him to take a look at the project following its completion, and to hear more about life in such a unique space.

How did you first come across the property?
It was my mother, Kate, who found the property first. She’d spent a lot of time searching online for barns for conversion when this one came up and led us to The Modern House website. The property instantly piqued her interest, and everything began from there.

What was it about this property that stood out more than others you’d discovered?
Other than the remarkable design, of course, it was the location that really appealed. We were looking for a property within a small village, and the Long Barn is in Berwick St. James – a beautiful village in south west England, small enough to feel suitably rural, but large enough to have a pub and a shop nearby.

What were your initial thoughts when you went to view it?
It was a pretty immediate and unanimous decision to buy it – seeing it in person confirmed our initial thoughts from when we’d seen the property advertised. The combination of the location, style of the property, and the opportunity to design and create something new in one end of the house (previously used as a large storage space for classic cars) made it a really exciting prospect.

Where were you living before?
We had a house on the south coast directly overlooking the sea. We’d been there for around four years, having spent the decade prior to that living in a barn conversion in Somerset. When we found the Long Barn it confirmed that is was indeed time to return to this kind of open-plan rural space.

When you moved in how long did it take before it felt like home?
Even though we were only able to live in one end of the barn initially whilst we began work converting the empty storage space at the other end, it felt homely right away.

Tell us about the work you’ve done to the barn since moving in?
As I mentioned, we developed one end of the barn right away – transforming it from a vintage car garage to extend the open-plan living space. We worked with Aaron Emmanuel of Brightspace Architects – a local firm in Fordingbridge – who was great at mapping out and creating exactly what we wanted. Following that we also worked with him to convert the first floor, adding in additional bedrooms and bathrooms.

How did you go about deciding on the aesthetic for the interior? 
When we first bought the barn the doors, wood frames and walls had been painted black. When we were redesigning the interior, we decided to change the colour scheme – switching out the black in preference of a lighter grey, and painting the remaining walls white. However, we decided to leave the exposed ply walls as a feature – these give the whole space a softer, more textured look which feels right.

Most of the furniture was brought across from our previous home, but amongst the new pieces was the large corner sofa which I sourced through my own company, Harry Wood Interiors.

Is there anything further you’d like to do to the property?
We plan to build a garage, and develop the patio outside the back doors. The interior is pretty much completed now, though.

What’s your favourite thing about living in the property?
The contemporary, open-plan design works really well for us and the location is as perfect as we’d anticipated – we’re nestled in the centre of the village, however still secluded by a long drive and tall trees. It’s near impossible to think of any downsides!

Are there any other properties in the UK that could tempt you away from the barn?
In the long term, no – we’re both really happy here. That said, being a young man I’d love to experience a few years living in London, so I’m keeping half an eye open for an exciting property there!

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