Stephen and Ann Smith realised their long-held wish of self building after they found a secluded plot with permission to build a barnstyle home that sits perfectly in its rural Cotswold setting

WORDS VICTORIA JENKINS

Made from Cotswold stone, the new home resembles an old agricultural barn in order to adhere to planning restrictions for the area

The architect incorporated a sixmetre lightwell into the design at the southfacing rear aspect, to encourage natural light to penetrate into the sunken ground floor

PHOTOS SIMON MAXWELL

Building their own home had been a dream of Stephen and Ann Smith’s for several years. Just as it does for many self builders, finding the right plot took some time. It wasn’t until their daughter suggested they visit a site she had discovered online that their search finally came to an end. “It was in a little village in the Cotswolds, and despite the bleak and wintry January day on which we went to view it, I just loved it,” says Stephen. “It took some finding to get to it, as it was in a very tucked-away spot, but that was part of the appeal.”

The gently sloping plot is half an acre in size and consisted of a barn, a stable made of breeze blocks and three metal lockups. It came with planning permission for a small house in place of the lockups, but Stephen and Ann were looking for something that could host their extended family. “Our two children had already left home and have families of their own, so we didn’t need anything really large, but just enough space for them and our grandchildren to visit,” says Stephen. So, the couple reached out to the architect who had drawn up the original plans to create a design with a bigger floorplan, taking it from around 170m2 to 230m2.

“It’s been a very rewarding experience to see a design on paper transformed into our wonderful new home that blends so perfectly into the landscape”