Rooms with a view (From Living Northeast)

Rooms with a view

1:30pm Thursday 18th February 2010 in

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It took just eight months to turn a tumbledown barn in Teesdale into a Royle family home. Jenny Laue is impressed.

WHEN Claire Royle and her husband Jeremy bought an old barn on a farm in the middle of Teesdale it was covered with a tin shed and still had grain in it. But that didn’t stop the young couple from setting out to convert it into their dream home. Only later did they realise what a lucky find they’d made.

“It was old and rambling and it was basically falling down,” remembers Claire. “The whole barn was also covered in this industrial tin shed and the first thing we did was knock that down. Suddenly, we had the most amazing views across Teesdale Moor and Raby Castle, which we hadn’t appreciated at all.”

And they didn’t let the dust settle before they started the proper conversion on the barn near Cleatlam. “We already had the builders lined up and they came two days later. So we bought the barn on the Friday and they started converting it on the Monday,” she says. “I have to say our builders were absolutely brilliant. They were real experts and they were on site from start to finish. They just brought in their excavators and that was that – we were on our way.”

Before they moved into Middlefield, in 2007, the Royles lived in Whorlton, but once they had their daughter Camilla, they needed more space. They sold their first property and lived in rented accommodation for a year, so by the time the barn at Dunn House Farm came onto the market, they were desperate to own their own property again. This and Jeremy’s considerable managerial skills contributed to the fact that it took the Royles only eight months to convert the ramshackle barn into their dream home – from the purchase of the building to the day they moved in.

“I would say Jeremy was more enthusiastic about the whole thing than I was, but I went along with him because I trust him,” says Claire. “He project-managed our conversion as well as running his graphic design consultancy in Newcastle. His experience as a business manager came in handy, so much so that project-managing was almost second nature to him.”

Even though it took the couple only eight short months to finish their home, it wasn’t all plain sailing. The barn wasn’t connected to any of the main services and they had to install water, electricity and gas. Jeremy and Claire found that getting the engineers to come and do the work took a great deal of time and effort and took to ringing each of the utility companies every day.

They also had to deal with stringent planning regulations which meant the Royles were not allowed to have any new openings in their barn – doors or windows. And any existing doors and windows had to stay as such.

Just to have the Aga centrally, the builders needed to move one of the windows to the right which meant a longwinded application process for Claire and Jeremy – all for the sake of 60cms.

Having finished the basics, the proper conversion of the barn could finally start. Claire, a business woman in her own right – she makes personalised gifts for babies and toddlers – became more and more involved. With her eye for design, colour and texture, she took on the responsibility for the barn’s interior. Although she had to look after a three-year-old Camilla and was pregnant with her second child, Jonny, Claire was site every day too.

“Once the staircase was in and the walls had been plastered, the barn became a house, which was exciting for me,” says Claire. “Suddenly, we could see the room definitions and from then on it was basically a case of getting it looking good.”

The key room for Claire is the large family kitchen.

It really is the focal point, a double room with a working area on one side and a cosy living space on the other.

The country-style kitchen is bright and airy and has been fitted with hand-made units with oak tops, a creamcoloured Aga and natural oak wood flooring. The living area is lit by two stylish table lamps and there are two big squashy sofas grouped around a wood-burning stove.

As well as the kitchen units, all the windows and doors were hand-made by a local joiner.

“Using local crafts people as much as possible was quite important to us,” says Claire. “It was my job to source everything inside the house, from the taps to the blinds to the material for the floors.

“Because the conversion happened so quickly, we had to make difficult decisions really quickly. I sometimes wished I had had more time to think longer about what I wanted.

“The best thing I bought for this house, in my opinion, was a little travertine sink, but it was the last thing to go in, so I had it sitting in an upstairs bedroom for months because I was afraid it would be broken.”

Wood flooring has been laid throughout the downstairs because of its hard-wearing properties and there is also a little playroom for Camilla and Jonny. This room’s French doors lead into the big garden and paddock beyond and make the most of the stunning views across the moors.

The downstairs loo/guest shower room is a sight to behold. As well as an ultra-modern travertine-tiled shower and sink and hand-made cupboards deep enough to hide washing machine, what catches the eye immediately is the stag’s head mounted above the toilet. Jeremy shot the deer a few years ago. The head generates plenty of conversation with guests, says Claire.

If they’re staying overnight, those same lucky guests will find a double guest bedroom that exudes tranquillity.

Up the stairs, the master bedroom’s main attraction are the original exposed beams and the height of the pitched ceiling, which makes the room feel twice as big as it actually is. The iron-framed double bed, the fitted wardrobes painted in Farrow & Ball’s Stony Ground, the super-soft cream carpet and the travertine-tiled en-suite shower room make it a real haven.

Jonny and Camilla’s rooms have been decorated with Claire’s flair for children’s textiles. Here there are wooden toys to play with, comfy cushions ideal for slouching on at story time, colourful bunting and curtains made from Cath Kidson fabrics.

Although initially she was sceptical about taking on the barn conversion and starting a house from scratch, Claire’s views have now change entirely. “I would love to do it all over again,” she says. “We both really enjoyed it.

Although next time I would be wiser and give myself a lot more time.”

■ Claire’s business, Claire Royle Applique, makes personalised towelling gifts for children and adults. Things such as bath towels, bathrobes, nighties and PJs can be decorated with initials or full names in ginghams or vintage-style fabrics.

Claire’s gifts are available at claireroyle.co.uk or on notonthehighstreet.com