Modern Barn in Cornwall: An Oak-Framed Family Home Built Using Local Materials and Traditions to Build Their Family Home
Flo Millard is one of the few people who can answer that old wisecrack affirmatively. Flo is an interior designer and Chris is an architectural lighting specialist. Photography by Daniel Scott, unless noted, all courtesy of Millard & Flo (@millardandflo). “We were then faced with the challenge of designing a new house from scratch as Covid was hitting,” says Flo. On the roadside elevation, a hazel hurdle and fledgling hedge rise over a dry stone wall, aka a Cornish hedge. Constructed in nine months on a tight budget, the house is clad in larch—”it needs time to silver off and for the garden to mature,” says Flo. Photograph by John Hersey. The front porch is Cornish granite with a slate walkway and a Dutch door—”it helps to contain small children and dogs.” The outside light is the Finsbury Lantern from Jim Lawrence. The vaulted living room has exposed supports à la a traditional English oak-framed barns... ...but with a cleaner, contemporary look: Flo tells us she “loved the idea of a cruck frame for the central space, but wanted straight beams rather than curves to allow maximum scale.” Chris and Flo worked separately for various London art and design firms before teaming up. Photograph by John Hersey. They wanted their living space to have “the sense of scale that comes with a barn.” The wide-plank flooring is white oak and has under-floor heating via an air-source heat pump, but Flo says, thanks to their two log burners and Everhot stove, they rarely need it. The snug off the living room doubles as a guest room. The circular wall lights are the Eclipse 300 LED from Astro. Photograph by John Hersey. “We designed the windows and doors to allow maximum light into each space, and with some gentle detailing to ensure their integrity,” says Flo. Chris and Flo requested that the oak for their house be left outdoors to age before being sent to them. A print by Ronan Bouroullec hangs outside the kitchen. Photograph by John Hersey. Fronted by a marble-topped island, the all-white kitchen has bespoke cabinets and white-oiled oak countertops hand built in Cornwall by kitchenmakers Treyone. The range is an energy-efficient induction Everhot, made in Gloucestershire in a carbon negative factory. Photograph by John Hersey. “Our pantry is a huge part of the kitchen/hallway design,” says Flo. Flo and Chris’s builders dubbed the pantry “The Sweetie Shop.” The brass doorknob and cabinet hardware are from Rowen & Wren. There’s a sitting area alongside the kitchen and dining table. The downstairs loo has a vanity built to Flo’s design with a Marble Countertop Basin from Lusso Stone. Flo and Chris’s room is one of three bedrooms upstairs. An “off-the-shelf Ledged Oak Door from Howdens” with a white ceramic knob leads to the family bath—says Flo... ...“we had this combination in my childhood barn and in the cottage. They remind me of home.” The Waters freestanding Cloud bathtub is made of a composite stone. The company car is a Land Rover Defender 90 TD5, here overlooking the sea minutes from the house—in addition to being a lighting designer... ...Chris is on 24-hour standby as a member of the RNLI Lifeboat, a highly trained volunteer crew that responds to emergencies on the water.