An exceptional barn conversion in Cornwall, renovated slowly and full of interesting antiques

The previous owners had bought the barn when it was still a dilapidated farm building, and they took on the challenge of converting it into a home, but they appeared to have run out of steam. It was structurally sound, and they did live there, but the interior was left unfinished and almost empty, with a garden that had been left to grow wild. This might have put some buyers off, but for Hannah, it was an irresistible opportunity. ‘They kept things very much as if it were still a barn, and I loved that,’ she explains. ‘I knew I could bring it back to life because they hadn’t removed any of its character, plus I really liked some of the things they’d added before the work stopped, such as the concrete floors, and the thick, uneven slate worktops in the kitchen. ‘I think if we'd divided the space up from scratch, we might have done it slightly differently, but working with what's already there forces you to be more creative, and do things that you wouldn't have considered.’

When Hannah and Jonny bought the house, the kitchen consisted of thick and uneven slabs of slate on top of simple supports made from breeze blocks and covered in plaster. They commissioned custom solid beech units to be built between the gaps of the original slate worktops.

Dean Hearne

The walls are painted a matte pure white by Lakeland Paints. The pendants above the table are from Fritz Fryer, and the kitchen chairs are vintage Carimate chairs by Vico Magistretti.

Dean Hearne

‘I can picture us staying here long term,’ Hannah says with conviction. ‘We always have this routine where we finish a house, and then I’ll start getting itchy feet,’ she explains. ‘But we haven't finished this house yet, because there are still lots of small improvements to make. Plus, I’m using leftover slate chippings from the garden to build more raised beds, and I want to add an outdoor kitchen. You can never say never, but it's been a lot doing everything myself, and I'm not sure I'm ready to start again.’

Although she points out that it’s still not finished, anyone stepping across the threshold would surely say it’s a knockout. As first impressions go, it doesn’t get much better than a double-height ceiling, a galleried landing, thick stone walls with a gentle undulation, and a dramatic staircase with wrought-iron railings that leads up to a round sitting room. Some of the interior elements could cause you to wonder whether you’re in Cornwall or Spain. The unusual layout and the walkway between spaces also make the house memorable. Hannah says her favourite thing is the staircase, and then she smiles, ‘My mum pointed out that we never buy a house with a normal staircase, which is actually true when I think of all the slightly weird houses we’ve lived in!’ she says. ‘I also love that you can hunker down in winter storms with the thick walls, and because there's no attic, you can hear the wind and the rain on the roof.’

The tiles in the kitchen are from Marlborough Tiles, and the wall lights are from Jim Lawrence.

Dean Hearne

When considering some of the more laborious tasks over the past four years, Hannah describes all of the now-beautiful beams being completely covered in thick globs of plaster and splashes of paint. She knew it would have been an option to sand them, but she didn’t want them to look sterile and lose their patina, so little by little, she scrubbed them down and washed the paint and plaster off by hand. Now seemingly unfazed by what probably felt like the arm workout of a lifetime, Hannah admits, ‘it was hard work, but it was worth it.

She’s not the type to hire someone for a task she can do herself, so Hannah has single-handedly taken on most of the barn’s DIY. ‘I decorated everything in here myself – climbing up ladders and painting ceilings.’ Jonny – while willing and helpful – runs a business that means he’s out of the house for most of the day, so it’s down to Hannah to grab a paintbrush here and a pair of secateurs there. ‘We haven't had loads of cash to splash, so the improvements have been slow, but it’s given me time to fully appreciate and restore what’s already here.’ She adds, ‘I think the mindfulness element of doing a lot of the work has been good for me, but there’s also the satisfaction of saying, “I did that!”’

What looks like a plain white side table is actually an enormous grey concrete drainage pipe that the previous owners had used as a base for a fire. The couple took had a top made for it then painted the whole thing to match the walls. It now acts as both a table and a room divider.

Dean Hearne

Buying the house and moving to Cornwall also meant a career change for Hannah. Canara Barn came with a much smaller two-person guest cottage next door, which the former interior designer now runs as a delightfully affordable Airbnb called The Bull House. It’s decorated simply with vintage furniture and zero seaside clichés, and it’s a particular favourite among design-lovers. Even in February, when the days are cold and short, it’s often booked back-to-back. The potential to run the cottage as a small business was one of the selling points of the barn, and thankfully, Hannah genuinely loves her new role as all-in-one marketer, cleaner, interior stylist and guest services manager.

When contemplating her approach to decorating both Canara Barn and The Bull House, most things are vintage or antique, with a few exceptions, including the beautiful hand-built beech kitchen, made to Hannah’s design by a local carpenter. ‘He was probably a little bit out of his depth as he wasn’t a joiner, so it took a while, but we got there in the end,’ she says of its design, which sits between thick plaster columns, beneath the slate slabs worktops.

Stairs leading to the roundhouse.

Dean Hearne

‘I've also got the odd new chair, because you have to break it up a bit, otherwise you risk it looking a bit like a charity shop,’ Hannah reasons, ‘but I generally prefer things with age and a history.’ It’s trickier to source in Cornwall, and she now predominantly searches online instead. ‘I wish we weren’t quite so far away, so I could go to all the antiques markets,’ she says. ‘I've been to them in the past and felt like I wanted everything because the choice was too overwhelming. Now I think about all the things I once wished I could have bought for the house, and I'm glad I wasn't able to,’ she reasons. ‘To avoid getting sucked into trends, you have to stop to analyse what it is that’s making you really want that item. Will it stand the test of time?’

In the roundhouse, the paint on the walls is Lute by Little Greene, and the window frames are painted in Green Smoke from Farrow & Ball. All of the furniture is vintage, with centre-stage given to Hannah’s great-grandmother’s sofa, covered in a Romo cotton velvet.

Dean Hearne

Hannah is clear that her style of decorating is flexible, but grounded in a certain appreciation for texture and patina. ‘I’ve been quite neutral in this house, whereas we had a Victorian maisonette in Bristol, and I went very colourful there,’ she explains. ‘My style changes, but it's always about bringing things together.I love pieces that have a bit of soul,’ she adds. ‘I also like to add friction with something controversial,’ she continues, pointing out the orange sofa in the sitting room, which belonged to her great-grandmother and was destined for the dump. ‘Not many people like that colour and it was quite disgusting before it was recovered,’ she admits. ‘Everyone thought I was mad, but it’s one of my favourite pieces in the house!’

Hannah started out doing fine art, but the open-ended nature of creating a piece of art was just too massive, and the possibilities were too vast, so that’s what led me into interior design,’ she explains. ‘I’ve realised I really enjoy working within the constraints of a house and a budget, often decorating with practical limitations on what can be sourced, and having to use what already exists.’

@hannah__yeomans