This cleverly conceived modern renovation seamlessly stitches together a series of quite contrasting buildings: a Georgian house, a former bakery and a cart barn, to present an extensive and incredibly well-executed family home and pair of creative studios. Wrapped around a beautifully landscaped walled garden, Wisteria House takes its name from the 300-year old horticultural spectacle that climbs one side of the façade. The property, in its entirety, has a combined footprint of just over 3,500 sq ft. Architectural plans to convert a third double-height attached barn, offering potential for a further 460 sq ft of internal living space, are also included in the title.

Positioned in the centre of the village of Blunham, in Bedforshire, the property has been artfully designed to offer excellent privacy. This is a house that adapts with apparent ease and effortlessness to the change of the seasons; in summer months the ground floor unfolds, internal rooms open out and daily life spills into the abundant garden and courtyards. In colder months, the house hunkers down into pockets of cosy rooms with soft light and open wood fires.

The primary entrance, a typically Georgian doorway flanked by stone columns and framed in greenery, leads directly into a generous circulation room with high ceilings, painted wooden floorboards and original sash windows inviting a beautifully dappled light.

A step down through the doorway to the immediate right leads into the first section of the old bakery building, a wonderfully characterful room currently set up as a study, with an open fireplace and painted-brick hearth, timber beams set in a low sloped ceiling and the original terracotta floor tiles running underfoot.

Traces of the building’s industrial past are peppered throughout the property (note the original bread oven hatch cut into the brickwork) and following the natural route into the hallway through to the bakery proper, the old building and the simple linear forms of the modern renovation start to merge.

This space is given over to a contemporary open-plan kitchen and dining room, with a poured-resin floor and slithers of light cut through the ceiling. This is a sociable, family-sized space, set up for cooking and entertaining, with both a Fisher & Paykel range and an electric aga. A wall of glazing spanning the length of the room offers a view out to the tall grasses and herbaceous borders.

Continuing through to the second link room one reaches an inviting snug, a cosy room with the original agricultural brick walls, two feet deep, and a substantial log burner tucked in the original stone chimney breast.

A full-height sliding timber door divides this room and the next; the converted cart barn, now home to the two creative studios. This is a voluminous space with a mezzanine to one end, exposed red brick and a wall of glazing offering access to the garden. The onion barn, and its potential for a further 460 sq ft of living or workspace, sits next door and to the rear is a private driveway. The existing plans also permit the division of the property into two separate dwellings, further details of which are available on request.

The beauty of the renovation lies in its success to serve the needs of the current owners with sophisticated versatility. This continuity extends up the metal cantilever staircase and through to an incredibly well-executed master bedroom and en-suite bathroom. Exceptional detailing is celebrated throughout, from the bespoke timber shuttering across square picture windows to the pale, timber-clad walls. This space feels private, sitting quite independently from the lion’s share of the main living space.

The remaining four bedrooms are scattered across the upper two storeys of the eighteenth-century Georgian wing of the house, a series of joyfully cottage-like bedrooms and bathrooms, with characterful dipping floors, and ceilings with bowing timber beams. A series of split-level, rendered landings replaced the original stairwell, allowing a channel of light to pour through the spine of the plan. There is also a beautifully proportioned sitting room on the ground floor with a contemporary log burner and french windows leading out to the courtyard.

The owners, a creative director and florist, have taken a sophisticated approach to design throughout the house and applied their eloquent understanding of horticulture to the development of the garden. The courtyard is rich in pockets of grasses and cut flower beds full of verbena, hostas and shots of crimson dahlias. An outdoor dining area takes shade under the old fruitful grapevine and climbing roses.

Blunham has a lively and welcoming local community, with regular yoga classes, a popular pub and local shop and a record-breaking cricket team. The surrounding countryside is easily accessible and offers great opportunity for walking. The village primary school is also held in high regard.

For connections to London, the fastest route is via Sandy (one and a half miles from the house), which offers a direct service to King’s Cross St. Pancras, Blackfriars and London Bridge in just over 45 minutes. Cambridge lies 24 miles to the East of Blunham, and Bedford, a great option for local amenities, is a fifteen-minute drive away.

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.