FUNCTIONAL YET
BEAUTIFUL
A passion project turned forever family home , with the kitchen at its heart
WHO ?
Alex Young , who owns a construction company , and his wife , Lauren . They have two children – Ava , seven , and Henry , who is four . The family also have two dogs – a Labrador and a Rottweiler .
WHERE ? Southam , Warwickshire .
WHAT ?
A complete renovation of the kitchen and adjoining utility and shower room in the converted barn property . The barn was built in 1860 and initially converted in 1985 . Alex and Lauren purchased the property in March 2014 .
WHEN ?
The space was renovated over a period of four months in late 2020 . The kitchen was completed by luxury kitchen and interiors company , Christopher Peters , between September 2020 and January 2021 .
WHY ?
In late 2013 , the young couple welcomed the arrival of daughter , Ava , and soon after began hunting for a property that would suit the needs of a growing family . Having known of the property through the previous owners , it had been empty for over a year when they made an offer in early 2014 . The couple were over the moon to learn that their offer had been accepted . But now came the hard work – renovations . The period property hadn ’ t been modernised since it had initially been converted in the mid-eighties , and with expensive projects mounting up – including new windows , structural modernisation and repointing – the kitchen became a task for later down the line .
For over five years , the couple renovated the property room by room . In 2019 , and now with two children , Alex and Lauren felt the timing might be right to move on to their next investment , having increased the value of the property significantly whilst raising two small children . But they soon realised that nothing on the market could replace the feeling of home they got from Myer Bridge Barn . And so , in 2020 , they decided to renovate the one space that would truly turn the property from a house to a home – the kitchen .
With two young children , storage space was a must – but with no compromise on style . The couple had renovated the rest of the barn to their own exacting standard and so the kitchen needed to live up to the rest of the property . With a real eye for classic , farmhouse design , Alex and Lauren worked with the team at Christopher Peters to create a design that would be as functional as it was beautiful . Having previously enquired with various other high street kitchen retailers , the Young ’ s were so impressed with Will and Grace ’ s – the married couple who own the luxury kitchen and interiors brand – attention to detail and ability to ‘ work with ’ the unique elements in the space , including the supporting beams , that they chose their company to do the work .
18 - www . refurbandrestore . co . uk