The Cow Shed
A listed barn in the Cotswolds converted into a unique home
A restrained material palette and a light touch design approach was used to convert this grade II listed dilapidated cowshed in the Cotswolds into a modern home which celebrates its original use.
The barn comprised of a single-storey cowshed and a two-storey bull-pen with hayloft above, these two elements of the building were not linked internally and were located on different levels. Our design concept involved sensitively uniting both sides of the barn by inserting a timber pod structure into the fabric of the listed building.
The new pod, mitigated the level change and acted as a divider division between the bedrooms and bathrooms as well as housing the new staircase to the first floor.
"Design Storey helped us convert an old Cotswolds cowshed into our dream home. From planning the space together, dealing with conservation issues through to appointing builders and overseeing the project, they held our hands each step of the way. We now have a beautiful, bespoke home in the heart of the Cotswolds thanks to Design Storey"
One interesting construction challenge was the necessity to “lift” the front elevation of the single-storey structure to create an entrance into the barn. We believed there were formerly pad stones located along the front of the barn, which had since been removed, causing the front of the barn to drop. We were onsite to observe the contractor ‘righting’ the trusses to set them in their original position and recorded the ’jacking up” of the roof structure in a time-lapse video.
