Country Homes & Interiors – September 2019

wallswerethenbuiltanda newstaircaseandfirstfloor

added.‘Weopeneduptheentranceareatotheroof

trussestomakea realstatementasyouenterthe

house,’saysTracy.‘Wewantedtomaintaintheintegrity

ofthebarnandbeingabletoseetheexposedbeams

waskey– it givesanideaofthespaceandscalehere.’

It wasimportanttoTracythatthepropertyretainedits

integrityandlookedlikeanauthenticbarnconversion.

Sheincorporatedlotsofnaturalmaterials,including

slateandoakfloors,whileasmuchoriginalstonework

aspossiblewasexposed,creatingfeaturewallsinthe

livingroom,cinemaroomandtwoofthebathrooms.

Tracywasalsokeentocreateaneclecticdecor

throughoutthehouse.‘I don’tlikethingsthatmatch,’

shesays.‘I preferfurnitureandaccessoriestohavea

historyandI’veincorporatedpiecescollectedoverthe

years.’Thepaintworkis important,too,andthelargely

neutralbackdropis punctuatedwithdeep-toned

featurewallsandoccasionalpopsofcolour.

‘Thehousehasdefinitelyjustifiedallthehardwork

• it’sanamazingplacetolive,’saysTracy.‘Wegrow
  ourownfruitandvegetablesandwe’vebeenableto
  keephens.Livinghereis thebestofbothworlds– it’s
  easytogettoLeedsandManchester,yetwe’re in the
  country with everything on our doorstep.’

Exterior

TracywithNellytheboxer,

Delilahthepugand

horsesNoddyandDillon,

and a neighbour’s horse

ONOURDOORSTEP

Visit...‘BoltonAbbey

(boltonabbey.com)is simply

beautifulfora walkwiththe

familyanddogs.’

Shopat...‘SusieWatson

Designs(susiewatsondesigns.co.uk)

inHarrogate,wherewepride

ourselvesonmakingfriendswith

ourcustomersandgivingthebest

possibleservice.Also,Isherwoods

Butchers(isherwoodsbutchers.co.uk)

inSilsden,whichsellsmeatreared

locallyintheAiredaleValley,

specialisinginAberdeenAngus

beef.AlsoKeelhamFarmshop

(keelhamfarmshop.co.uk)inSkipton.’

Goforamealat...

‘TheDevonshireBrasserieatBolton

Abbey(boltonabbey.com/shop-eat/

eat/brasserie)is fabulous,withreally

goodfoodinlovelysurroundings.

However,nothingbeatsSunday

lunchinTheWoollySheepInn

(woollysheepinn.co.uk)inSkipton.’

56 COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS

FEATURE

VIVIENNE AYERS

PHOTOGRAPHS

MARK NICHOLSON

YORKSHIRE BARN