French-style former barn

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Christina and Nigel Dickinson’s transformation of a mid-Victorian barn into a light and elegant French-style farmhouse has been achieved with a renovation budget of just £8,000.

Christina and Nigel Dickinson were immediately attracted by the spacious layout of this mid-Victorian barn, that had been converted in the 1980s. But they agreed that the house needed a bit of a makeover to give it a light and bright French feel. ‘There were brown wooden window frames, both inside and out, which we really didn’t like,’ says Christina. ‘I was worried that with our collection of antique oak furniture, the rooms would look rather gloomy. However, we had a strict budget of £10,000 so we had to be careful with our money.’

Christina and Nigel decided to begin with the kitchen, and they commissioned their friend and decorative painter Richard Hodge to carry out the work for them. ‘Painting the cupboard doors a pale green tone made the granite worktops look much more vibrant. It seemed to bring out the dark green flecks in the stone,’ says Christina. She then introduced a solid pine butcher’s block to create a free-standing island, and replaced all the dated white kitchen appliances with a new sleek black range cooker and a streamlined halogen hob. ‘We needed to have the granite worktops re-cut to fit the new hob,’ recalls Christina, ‘but the local stoneworkers told us they were too busy. So Nigel decided to cut the stone himself. Luckily, all went smoothly.’

Next came the sitting room. ‘I absolutely hated the red brick fireplace, but we couldn’t afford to replace it,’ explains Christina, ‘so we decided to experiment with one of Richard’s special paint finishes.’ The brickwork was given a base coat in the same shade as the one used for the skirting boards and window frames, and then given three further coats of a delicate off-white wash. ‘The outline of the brickwork is still visible, but the fireplace now has a more rustic, distressed look.’ To save money, rather than replacing her antique sofas, Christina had them reupholstered in a mink-coloured and amethyst-coloured velvet.

With the work completed, Christina and Nigel added up the cost of the work and were pleased to discover that they’d only spent £8,000 – £2,000 less than their original budget. ‘Making a home look stylish on a shoestring is about knowing exactly where to spend money in order to make the biggest difference,’ she says. ‘We’re thrilled with the makeover, and it just goes to show how much can be achieved simply by rethinking the decorating scheme.’

FEATURE JANE BOWLES PHOTOGRAPHS COLIN POOLE
Featured in the March 2010 issue of Period Living