Initially renovated as a holiday home, this beautiful barn conversion is nestled in the heart of a small rural village. The modern interior needed to somehow connect with the exterior landscape but had to remain sensitive to the location.
The result is a garden of two halves. The front of the property was reasonably overlooked by neighbouring properties and passers by. As it wasn’t possible to raise the height of the boundary walls to increase privacy, we introduced a sunken garden and shallow reflection pool. The garden is planted entirely in cool blues, purple and white and with the odd splash of darker foliage provides a secluded area for contemplation.
The rear garden retains fabulous views of open countryside, when in spring, yellow buttercups give the most wonderful display. The planting in the rear garden mainly consists of reds, oranges and yellows and looks spectacular in summer and early autumn. A sunken fire pit adds a focal point to one corner of the garden, and large oval lawn provides a backdrop for family games. Dark claret coloured foliage grows against the backdrop of a curved Yew hedge, increasing in height from just 30cm to 2.4m where it meets the eves of the house.
Finally the large vegetable garden and orchard provides fresh fruit and vegetables for the owners, and with the reintroduction of a heritage apple tree variety, allows the old barn a sense of present and past.