Were you raised in a barn? Flo Millard is one of the few people who can answer that old wisecrack affirmatively. She grew up in a 300-year-old converted farm building in Essex, England. And she liked living with a central open space and old beams so much that when she and her husband, Chris Millard, had the opportunity to build their own family home, they borrowed from barn vocabulary.
Flo is an interior designer and Chris is an architectural lighting specialist. Together they run Millard & Flo, a firm they founded in 2011 when they relocated from London to Cornwall—their first client was the real estate agent who initially showed them around: “he was building a house and needed lighting and interior design help,” says Flo. “It’s really just snowballed from there.”
The two now have a son and daughter, and were desperately in need of more space when they were offered land in the town of Rock, in North Cornwall, near the old cottage they had settled in. “We were then faced with the challenge of designing a new house from scratch as Covid was hitting,” says Flo. “It was a scary time to leave our beloved home and buy a field.”
The goal for their new place was to match the cottage in terms of character and longevity by making use of natural, and when possible local, materials and workmanship. Specifies Flo: “We wanted the structure to bed down into the landscape, and for the interior to feel communal and light.” We’re delighted to be the first to present the house that Millard & Flo built.
Photography by Daniel Scott, unless noted, all courtesy of Millard & Flo (@millardandflo).
![on the roadside elevation, a hazel hurdle and fledgling hedge rise over a dry s 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millard-and-flo-house-cornwall-daniel-scott-photo-1.jpg)
The roof tiles are local, reclaimed Delabole Slate.
![constructed in nine months on a tight budget, the house is clad in larch— 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millard-and-flo-house-north-cornwall-exterior.jpg)
![the front porch is cornish granite with a slate walkway and a dutch door— 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-jhs-65-3.jpg)
![the vaulted living room has exposed supports à la a traditional english oa 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-4.jpg)
The fireplace is lined with same Cornish granite as the porch and leftover oak framing was put to use as the mantel beam. The wood-burning stove is a Charnwood C-Seven. The artwork is by Danny Rolph, an artist friend of the couple’s.
![chris and flo worked separately for various london art and design firms before 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millard-and-flo-at-home-cornwall-john-hersey-photo.jpg)
![the \2\20;snug\2\2\1; off the living room doubles as a guest room 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-6.jpg)
![\2\20;we designed the windows and doors to allow maximum light into each 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-7.jpg)
![chris and flo requested that the oak for their house be left outdoors to age be 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millarandflo-flo-millard-at-home-north-cornwall-5a.jpg)
![a print by ronan bouroullec hangs outside the kitchen. photograph by john herse 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-jhs-60-8.jpg)
![fronted by a marble topped island, the all white kitchen has bespoke cabinets a 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-kitchen-north-cornwall-9a.jpg)
The range is an energy-efficient induction Everhot, made in Gloucestershire in a carbon negative factory.
![\2\20;our pantry is a huge part of the kitchen/hallway design,\2\ 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-cornwall-john-hersey-photo-1.jpg)
![flo and chris\2\17;s builders dubbed the pantry \2\20;the sweetie 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-12-10.jpg)
![there\2\17;s a sitting area alongside the kitchen and dining table. the 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-19-12.jpg)
![the downstairs loo has a vanity built to flo\2\17;s design with a marble 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-36-14.jpg)
![flo and chris\2\17;s room is one of three bedrooms upstairs. the bedside 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-house-north-cornwall-theheadthetailstudio-photo-13.jpg)
![an \2\20;off the shelf ledged oak door from howdens with a white ceramic 32](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millard-flo-house-north-cornwall-daniel-scott-photo-2.jpg)
![the company car is a land rover defender 90 td5, here overlooking the sea in ro 33](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/millardandflo-landrover-defender-90-td5-panel-van-in-rock-cornwall-15.jpg)
For more inspiration, browse the Remodelista Barns archive, including:
- Like Walking Through a Sonnet: A Serene East Sussex Barn by Cassandra Ellis
- Architect Visit: A Passive Barn-Style House for the Future, Hudson Valley Edition
- A Gloucestershire Barn by London’s Idiosyncratic Antiquarian Christopher Howe
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