20 years ago | Chamberlains Farm, Shevington Moor, UK | ??th December 2003

Twenty years ago,  we started the process of turning our barn into two adjoining houses – and I set about designing our next home, to the smallest detail, with only a few months to go before work would start…

I’d already converted our first house from a shell of a property with no amenities into a cosy little end terrace in Warrington. Now, we had to convert our half of the barn into a something we could call home. Everything – internal layout, staircase options, plumbing, electrics, windows and décor – had to be decided upon. 

Once we’d established the basic layout of the internal walls, in conjunction with the architect, I had to plan and visualise each room. As it happened, I had a bit of experience in this area, having already re-fit one house and seen at close hand another house re-build and several re-fits at work, including one very large store re-build.

I knew the limitations of technical plans, however necessary they are. Even the most detailed plans confirm dimensions and can prove that spaces will or won’t fit in the things they’re intended to incorporate – but they very rarely provide you with a sense of ‘feel’. This meant lots and lots of cutaway drawings, using the logic of the plans as their basis.

Only then can the decisions suggested by the plans be truly evaluated – and more easily communicated to everyone else. For decades, I’d seen my Dad doing these kinds of drawings, even when I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the practical value of what looked more like a nice art project. I’ve always had the same artistic ability and the prospect of drawing up an entire house filled me with enthusiasm rather than trepidation.

There were, of course, many drafts but as each ‘latest version’ gave way to the next for each room, I filed them studiously in a ring binder, which became the main information hub of the whole project. If you’re familiar with our kitchen, you’ll know that this 2004 version of the visuals is still very close to it. Only a couple of details are different. The ‘American-stye’ fridge and freezer made way for in-built versions and the drainer is on the other side of the sink. Pretty much everything else was installed as you see it here.

It’s a similar story with our utility room. Aside from the saddle racks moving to the near corner and the washing machine moving beneath the window to accommodate the boiler being moved to that part of the room, it’s almost as you see it here. Although the dog bed idea didn’t work out and there have been a few times over the years when I’ve wondered if we should have just had two washers and two driers in there. Every room in the house got the same treatment and I still have all the drawings.

I also drew up my own version of the architects’ plans to check rooms could for all the furniture ideas we had and to be able to communicate our requirements to tradesmen. I used Excel to create grids where every square is 10 pixels squared and represents (if I remember right) 15 cm x 15 cm. I then used shapes and clip art to ‘move around’ the furnishing options.

The other advantage this offered was that, once finalised, I could print out any number of copies. With a large number of these ‘schematics’ of both upstairs and downstairs, I then added our requirements for mains power outlets, lighting, water supply and heating.

I still have the ring binder on a shelf in my office. I’ve always felt that, having acquired so much experience in this area, it’s a bit of a shame to do it just the once. 

There’s still plenty of time to call upon all these skills again, of course…