Grand Designs: Season 6, Episode 2

6 - 2: Ross-on-Wye: The Contemporary Barn Conversion

Robert and Jane Ellis decided to convert an isolated hilltop ruin in the Forest of Dean in Herefordshire. Adding modern steel and glass they created a mouthwatering contemporary structure. They decided to keep as much of the old barn as it is. The new additions are clearly modern and new, with a clear line separating old and new. The old barn was very dark with no real windows and since planners ruled that no additional windows can be added, they had to use as much of available light as they could. The result is a surprisingly bright space, filled with lots of steel, stainless struts, glass and the best of modern furniture, where new and old are sitting in a very easy dialog.