The restoration of a small, semi-derelict barn and its incorporation into a new cluster of spaces that include a playroom, two guest bedrooms, a sauna and a ‘snug’. Externally the vertical larch cladding boards, which will weather-down to its natural silver, complement the colour of the local Welsh stone of the original barn. The upper roofs are finished in Welsh slate with staggered ridges that maintain and enhance the original bat roosts, while the two new shallow-pitched low-level roofs are to be covered in wildflowers to encourage bio-diversity and help them blend into the surrounding rolling landscape.
Lime render, exposed oak beams and oak furniture and fittings complement the natural colour range of the exposed stonework around the wood burning stove on the inside of the barn.
An air source heat pump produces energy for hot water heating. The stonewalls to the barn are newly insulated with hygroscopic Hemcrete on the inside and the new timber-framed walls and slated roofs are highly insulated with sheep’s wool.