Welcome to Hart Barn

Hart Barn is our most ambitious renovation project to date.

This quirky three storey bank barn in Hartsop was originally converted in the 1980’s into a three bedroom cottage and we have stripped it back to a barn before turning it into a fabulous contemporary retreat for two.

After a year’s renovation the barn is now finished and booking up fast

To contact us to make a booking or make an enquiry e-mail helen@hartbarn.co.uk

Hart Barn – H’Arts and Crafts

Cumbria has a wealth of talented artists and craftspeople and we want Hart Barn to be a “living gallery” to showcase the best of the region. Much of the interior and the fittings will be bespoke – we aim to inspire and delight!

What will you find?

• Master bedroom with a vaulted green oak roof and gallery over living room.
• Fabulous spiral staircase with railway sleeper treads.
• Romantic bathroom with freestanding bath, Philippe Starck fittings and separate high-pressure shower.
• First floor living room with wood-burning stove and mountain views including glimpses of Brotherswater.
• Simple lines, hidden appliances, clever lighting and the warmth of underfloor heating will make the dining kitchen a real haven to walk into after a day on the fells.
• Striking artwork, bespoke furniture as well as some 20th century design classics create an eclectic modern interior.
• Wifi access, Sony Home Cinema System, Sky+ HDTV with movies pack, telephone (free UK landline calls)
• Separate utility and drying room.
• Over 800 square feet of living space.
• Private terraced garden to the rear plus use of our large fellside garden with its stunning panoramic views of Brotherswater and the mountains beyond.

What’s happening this week?

w/c 12th February

After a very busy week, we are finally finished and first guests have arrived…and yes are very happy…we are dead excited with the result…see what you thinks:

w/c 5th February

Just a quick couple of lines in between hanging some great abstract painting by Rosie Wates of Green Door Studios in Kendal and doing a lot of cleaning. The main rooms are all finished, with just works going on in the utility room to box in all Richard’s beautiful pipework ! I hope to be able to post more pictures early next week of the finished property…particulary can’t wait to see the kitchen cleared out the the blue protective film removed from the gloss white doors…and of course the curved red wall with the dining table slotted through…so watch this space!

w/c 24th January

Much progress: Oak floor laid, all skirtings on and painted, chandelier hung, woodburner installed and working…job done in living room! So really just a tiny bit of painting left for me and the uiltity to fit out. Stairs have all been cleaned and treated and look fabulous. Thought it was time for some more pictures to share our excitement about the chandelier (thank-you Iestyn at Blowzone)

w/c 2nd January

Well after months of slog, we didn’t hit our Christmas deadline, despite Richard working boxing day, we didn’t manage New Year either. The last couple of weeks have felt like we have been swimming through treacle, taking one step forward and then half a step back, but the long hours and hard slog have meant that we have nearly finished. The kitchen is in, so is the bathroom (except for the shower surround…one of the half steps backwards!). The oak floor is being laid as I type, and the bedroom is finished apart from the hanging bedside lights. We are gong for a final clean through this weekend (where does all the dust come from?) and then I have about a week of painting and Richard has about the same of plumbing…so we should have a finish by the end of the month and hopefully a new website too! I must say it is looking lovely and we have had many people call in for a “neb” (look this up in your cumbrian dictionary) and the appreciative comments are keeping us going….well that and our rather appropriate new first booking for Valentines Day.

Bookings are starting to come in and so I have attached an availability list for the barn…we think it is a really special space and will make a lovely romantic rural retreat..we hope you agree ;)

w/c 13th December 2010

Much progress with bedroom carpeted, kitchen floor laid (looks lovely, thank-you Burlington) and kitchen fitters arriving today. Looking really fab…we are all tired but very excited!

w/c 1st December 2010

More time has whizzed past and it is really coming together now with the bedroom completely painted (and the vauted ceiling took me a whole week!) and much of the oak work fitted. Second fix electrics underway and all stone delivered for the bathroom and kitchen which we hope to seal this week and start laying the kitchen floor next weekend. The glass for the round window has been commissioned from Jo Vincent (see www.jovincent.com). Ever the optimist I have also bought the Christmas Tree decorations!

w/c 18th October 2010

Where has the time gone? Can’t believe I haven’t posted anything for 4 weeks, but the excuse is we have been unbelievably busy and working very long days, but the barn is now plastered, all electrics in, bathroom on order (and yes I weakened and there is a considerable number of Philippe Starck fittings in the bathroom – including a really fab loo!) That’s it now…no more indulgences allowed! So this week whilst the place is drying out we will finish fixing the beams on the living room ceiling and the fair faced stone wall will be pointed ready for painting. First fix plumbing is underway and I will be cleaning down the oak-work and hopefully painting a ceiling or two….finally it is starting to look like a house again. PS sorry about the messy layout, if anyone out there can tell me how to paste pictures into this frustrating program without everything jumping atound the please let me know!

w/c 24 th September

We have been making the most of the dry weather and finishing the outside hard landscaping and the rear garden now climbs up a rockface (a handrail has been ordered for those who wish to avoid ropes and crampons!) to two patio areas, the top one orientated to the south and will have a couple of recliner chairs to sunnier days. Otherwise the studding is all complete inside and first fix electrics underway. I am starting to chose and order funiture, so colour schemes are coming together (neutrals, the brown black of Herdwick yearlings and an accent of bright orangey red…..the architect’s choice!). No pictures this time, but will post one of the garden once we have laid some turf this weekend. w/c 13th September

A busy couple of weeks and Hart Barn now has an attractive porch and a fabulous staircase, the latter went in like a dream but as we have covered the gorgeous treads as we worked, photos don’t show it to its best. Lots of carcassing going on this week with the bathroom walls going in all ready for the first fix electrics to start . Also hope to finish the hard landscaping in the garden….but it has just started to drizzle, we hope this is not the end of the summer.

w/c 25th August

The roof is complete, scaffold is down and we are starting to build the porch on the front. The LED chandelier for the gallery between the bedroom and living room has been ordered …can’t resist showing you a sneaky preview. And Pip Hall has designed the sign and I collected it yesterday…it is beautiful, and as Richard said, seems a shame to put it outside! David and Richard start fitting the stairs next week and as 100 year old railways sleepers and stainless steel are both rather hard and unforgiving materials…I am expecting a few unrepeateable words over the next fortnight, but hopefully will have some more great pictures to show.

w/c 2nd August

A month has past and our roof is nearly complete….we did not miss the deluge and the barn got a bit soggy and is currently drying out, which means our completion date has slid back about 4 weeks. However we are making the most of the improving the weather and have re-pointed the front and started the landscaping in the back garden. Its all starting to come together (well in my head at least!)….I’ve even chosen the bath and have my eye on some fab lighting. More photos to come once the scaffold is hopefully removed next week.

w/c 27th June

A busy week with the old barn roof removed – boy was it rotten, the slates were held on mostly by their weight and goodwill as the old nails had simply rusted away. The new green oak roof has been craned onto the building and looks fabulous….we just need to get a shimmy on before the next deluge!

w/c 17th May

Well the top floor has come out and gone back in again so it now can support the new spiral staircase and the balcony over the living room. The rear patio has been cleared of detrius (a lot of digging!) levelled and now concreted ready to be paved – it looks great and gets the sun until lunchtime at which point the top terrace turns into a veritable suntrap. The oak stair treads and stainless steel risers are also complete and they look fantastic…can’t wait to see them installed. More soon….Richard is working very hard.

w/c 26th April

The back-door has been dropped to be level with the back patio and the stonework looks great…you would never know it hadn’t been there for 150 years! There has been much behind the scenes activity with the stairs being delivered next week (in bits!) and hopefully the week after we will have all the green oak for the roof plus all the oak ballustrading for the stairs and balcony. I have been busy sorting out light fittings…seems a long way off until we need them, but hopefully once the roof is done we should get a shimmy on!

w/c 12th April

It has been a while since my last post and we have been busy. The ground floor structure is now complete and lovely and dry! The wall is in for the utility room at the back of the kitchen and the underfloor heating pipes installed under a new screed floor….samples of limestone flooring sit on my desk, but we are a couple of months away from the kitchen being fitted. The roof is next! Will add some pictures soon.

w/c 15th March

The garden wall is complete and looks very fine ….I am about to start pressure washing the rockface in the back garden….so on with the wellies! Work inside continues to focus on drains and water removal, but we are winning and the new kitchen sink can now sit under the window.

w/c 8th March

We are continuing work on the ground floor of the barn and this weekend removed all the blockwork walls ready to start the new tanking system for the walls that are below ground level…that’s the thing about a bank barn, part of it is built into a bank (unfortunately not one with a store of gold bullion!) Work on garden walls to the rear is underway and we hope to have the oil tank in place by the end of the week…..we would have loved a geothermal system but for a property of this size, just couldn’t stretch to it, so oil is the only option. This will be supplemented by a wood-burning stove though to reduce the environmental impact. That’s about it for this week……..