Design house: An impressive converted barn in Yorkshire

For some, decorating their entire home is a daunting, albeit exciting, challenge. For others, like interior designer Tor Vivian, it is their job. Having moved house eight times in the past 12 years, Tor, her husband, and their children, have finally settled in a 19th-century converted barn near Ripon, Yorkshire.

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The property

‘When we moved in, we had a bit of an issue with the layout. There was always going to be one room that people would need to walk through so I decided to make this an open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting room. Structurally, we did not knock down many walls but we did convert the garage into a suite of guest rooms, complete with its own boiler, so that we can shut that wing off when no one is staying.

It was actually really easy. I already had a lot of art and furniture so I was designing around that. While I did have budget constraints, I worked in the same way I would with a client. I created moodboards and drew up room plans but, as I did not want things to be perfect, I was easier to please than most of my clients. Worrying about little things makes me unhappy so by not fussing, it was a relaxing experience,’ explains Tor.

Dining room and kitchen

This open-plan space was created to improve the flow of the rooms downstairs, while an oversized pendant highlights the original beams.

Kitchen

The island incorporates plenty of storage, freeing up the walls for Tor to display artwork and accessories.

Living room

Tor’s paintings, bought years before the family moved in, dictated the color scheme for the open-plan sitting-kitchen-dining room.

Entrance hall

Tor is proud of her brave choice of strong blue for this space, which creates an ideal backdrop to display favourite pieces. ’Ive been collecting things for years,’ she says. ‘I found this straw peacock in a gallery when I was twenty-one.’

Living room

A mix of cushions in a variety of fabrics and textures, including ikats from Uzbekistan and plain belts from Oka, creates an air of comfort.

Exterior

Home for Tor and her family is a converted 19th-century barn in Yorkshire.

Child's room

‘I made the wardrobe doors by taking a mirrored screen apart and attaching the panels to MDF,’ says Tor.

Main bedroom

Despite opting for a more neutral palette, Tor has curated a diverse collection of artwork so that the space retains a strong personality.

Bathroom

Having played it safe with the scheme in her bedroom, Tor chose a daring wallpaper for the bathroom, uniting the two rooms with shades of yellow.

Child's bedroom

With the colors of the British and American flags as inspiration, this room has a relaxed charm.

Child's study

‘I like to think about future needs when designing rooms for children,’ says Tor, who took advantage of the narrow anteroom adjoining her son's bedroom to create his own den.

Guest bedroom

Tor's love of texture makes this a perfectly crafted and welcoming space. She kept the armchair after discovering it was not quite right for one of her clients.

Photography/Jody Stewart