Houzz Tour: A Dartmoor Farmhouse With a Contemporary Extension
A complete renovation of this 18th century farmhouse included eco features and a gorgeous glass-box extension
West Yard Farm in Dartmoor is a home of two halves, with the original 18th century granite farmhouse on one side and its barn on the other. Back in the 1950s, a flat-roofed extension had been constructed to link the two buildings, but the barn had not been converted and, by the time owners Chris and Kim Marshall bought it at auction, the farmhouse was almost uninhabitable.
‘They were looking for the ultimate project,’ says architect Ian Phillips, of van Ellen + Sheryn Architects, who worked on the renovation. ‘The property had been unoccupied for a few years and was in a very neglected state. The décor hadn’t been touched since the 1960s. We had to replace everything – the roof, floors, windows. Apart from the stonework and the timber beams and trusses, everything else is new.’
In addition to modernising the farmhouse and converting the barn, Ian and his team designed a contemporary, steel-framed glass-box extension to replace the ‘ramshackle’ construction that had linked the two buildings. Now, this space contains a kitchen and living room and is a central hub, with fabulous views over the woods beyond.
The Marshalls also wanted the property to be environmentally friendly and self sufficient, so Ian and his team installed a wealth of green features. A ground source heat pump provides heating, electrical usage is offset by an array of photovoltaic panels on the barn roof, and solar thermal panels provide much of the hot water requirement. Completed in May 2013 after a 14 month build, the house is now a gorgeous rural retreat, and a great example of a contemporary aesthetic and state-of-the-art green technology marrying beautifully with an ancient building.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Chris and Kim Marshall and their two children
Location Dartmoor, Devon
Designer van Ellen + Sheryn Architects
Size 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
‘They were looking for the ultimate project,’ says architect Ian Phillips, of van Ellen + Sheryn Architects, who worked on the renovation. ‘The property had been unoccupied for a few years and was in a very neglected state. The décor hadn’t been touched since the 1960s. We had to replace everything – the roof, floors, windows. Apart from the stonework and the timber beams and trusses, everything else is new.’
In addition to modernising the farmhouse and converting the barn, Ian and his team designed a contemporary, steel-framed glass-box extension to replace the ‘ramshackle’ construction that had linked the two buildings. Now, this space contains a kitchen and living room and is a central hub, with fabulous views over the woods beyond.
The Marshalls also wanted the property to be environmentally friendly and self sufficient, so Ian and his team installed a wealth of green features. A ground source heat pump provides heating, electrical usage is offset by an array of photovoltaic panels on the barn roof, and solar thermal panels provide much of the hot water requirement. Completed in May 2013 after a 14 month build, the house is now a gorgeous rural retreat, and a great example of a contemporary aesthetic and state-of-the-art green technology marrying beautifully with an ancient building.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Chris and Kim Marshall and their two children
Location Dartmoor, Devon
Designer van Ellen + Sheryn Architects
Size 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
The house is two separate properties, built on a slight slope, which were previously linked by a rickety flat-roofed extension. This was pulled down and a striking, lightweight glass-box extension added in its place. The barn to the right contains two bedrooms, a bathroom, a utility room and a cloakroom, and is also home to the plant room, where all the equipment relating to the property’s green features, such as the ground source heat pump, is housed.
‘We wanted to create a workable link between the two buildings,’ says Ian of the glass-box extension. ‘It contains the kitchen and living room and is very much the heart of the home. From here you circulate through all the different spaces. It’s the core of the building.’
See more inventive glass-box extensions
See more inventive glass-box extensions
The kitchen is deliberately minimal and crisp looking. ‘The white units and a black worktop could look a little stark, though,’ says Ian, ‘so we used American walnut to face the curved bank of units and add colour and texture.’ The warm wood is a gorgeous feature of the living room. ‘It looks like a piece of furniture in its own right,’ adds Ian. ‘It benefits the living space, rather than just looking like the back of the kitchen units.’
A few stairs lead down into the kitchen, and the living space in the extension beyond is lower again. ‘The ground slopes down to a lake and woods,’ explains Ian, ‘so we designed the extension to follow this topography. The living room is just about flush with the lawn.’
‘We had to do so much work to make the building sound and waterproof, that we were not able to keep much exposed stonework,’ says Ian, ‘but this fireplace is a nice detail.’ A neutral colour scheme gives the whole property a relaxed, easy-going feel. ‘The stone flooring is Jerusalem gold limestone,’ he says. ‘We used the same stone in the glass box, but chose square honed tiles instead.’
A bank of cupboards in American walnut sits at the back of the extension. ‘It links the farmhouse to the barn,’ says Ian, ‘and makes a warm backdrop. The kitchen is behind it.’
The glass extension and kitchen form the central living area in the property, leaving the farmhouse and barn to provide the more intimate spaces and bedrooms. This is the sitting room in the original farmhouse building, warmed by one of the home’s many wood burners. Behind the shelves is a photo that owner Chris took, blown up and pasted in as a backdrop.
‘We wanted to make the most of the views over the countryside when designing the glass-box extension,’ says Ian. Sliding glass screens let in masses of light and frame the landscape, which acts as a lush, natural backdrop to life in the house. ‘The windows are about 3.2m high, which is about as big as you can go with a single pane of glass without things getting very technical and complicated,’ he says.
There are three wood-burning stoves in the farmhouse and one in the barn. ‘Chris and Kim have woods on their land, so they have a ready supply of fuel,’ says Ian. Heat from the ground source heat pump is channelled through underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs. ‘But when all the wood burners are going, you don’t need much additional heating,’ he adds.
The owners didn’t want a super-contemporary staircase made only from glass or metal, so Ian’s team created something that referenced traditional designs, with a timber framework, but with large panels of glass, too. ‘This allows light to flow downstairs,’ says Ian. ‘We also installed a huge roof light above, so this space is really bright.’
A simple recipe of white and stone colours has been rolled out in all the rooms. In the master en-suite bathroom, the white freestanding tub is teamed with limestone on the walls and floor for a clean, contemporary feel.
Check out these elegantly pale bathrooms
Check out these elegantly pale bathrooms
This en suite adjoins the second large bedroom in the farmhouse. ‘The original beams were only partially exposed before, with a flat ceiling above,’ says Ian. ‘We took out that ceiling to create a vaulted space.’ Although attractive, the roof timbers were not strong enough to hold the roof up. ‘They were not in great shape structurally,’ he says. ‘So we created a new support structure that envelopes the old trusses. We didn’t take them down, we built around them. Now, they are purely decorative.’
The master bedroom is a simple space, with the vaulted ceiling and original roof trusses the main features. A chimney travels up through it, with a bespoke wardrobe built in alongside. The flooring is oak.
The second bedroom in the farmhouse has a similar wardrobe to the master bedroom for a cohesive look upstairs. The beams are original, but everything else in the property is new, including the windows and radiators.
Have you added a modern extension to an old house? Share your experiences in the Comments section below.
Have you added a modern extension to an old house? Share your experiences in the Comments section below.