Huge open spaces and stunning beams are features of our property of the month, a converted barn in the Yorkshire Wolds. Sue Mason takes a tour for The Journal . . .

Sunnyside Barn has a secure garden, with plenty of lawned areas – great for a young family

On the fringes of the village of Middleton on the Wolds, equidistant from Beverley and Driffield, is an 18th-century barn that has been converted into a spacious home.

It comes complete with original features, stunning views and a very practical design.

“We bought it when it was just a barn, although it had already been re-roofed,” said the current owner, who now needs to live closer to York. “We were looking for a barn to convert and this one had a huge open space so we could make it exactly right for us. It had been a grain barn, built around 1850, and it was in pretty good nick.

“We wanted it to be a practical house that suited both us and our guests, so we have a big family space with a playroom for the children off one side and a sitting room for privacy and quiet off the other.

“It’s the same upstairs, with the guest suite situated to one side.

“Outside, the garden is secure for the children and easy for us to keep an eye on them.”

The huge family room is, in fact, over 38ft long (and almost 20ft wide) and has a kitchen at one end, a breakfasting and dining area in the middle and a sitting area to the other side; it’s an overused phrase but this space really is the heart of the home, its appearance enhanced by the huge ceiling beams .

The contemporary Alno kitchen in pistachio is very unusual, and features an island unit and an arrangement of base and wall cupboards to either side of a stainless steel cooking range, with a six-ring hob and chimney extractor over.

The sitting room measures approximately 20ft square and has a log-burning stove set in an inglenook with a large mantle beam; another feature is the glazed French doors to the patio

The work surfaces are in double thickness African iroko hardwood and the island incorporates an integrated dishwasher and fridge, as well as cupboards.

“We chose green because we wanted it to be unusual,”  explains the current owner. “We are quite artistic and we enjoy being different.

“This colour was so new, they didn’t even have door samples they could show us, so we were very relieved when it arrived and was what we wanted.”

The ground floor has Indian flagstones for the kitchen, with pine flooring elsewhere; there is also underfloor heating.

Off the kitchen is the playroom (if you don’t need a playroom, it would make a great study or snug), which has two separate glazed doors to the decking area and garden.

Also off the kitchen is the utility room, which is extremely well fitted with cupboards and has a one-and-a-half bowl sink and plumbing and space for a washing machine, tumble drier and freezers.

Sunnyside Barn is approached via a gravel drive, through double timber gates and is surrounded by high timber fencing.

The entrance hall is double height and has a galleried landing. At the rear of the entrance hall is a good-sized cloakroom and to one side is the sitting room, measuring approximately 20ft square. This room has a log burning stove set in an inglenook with a large mantle beam; another feature is the glazed French doors to the patio.

Upstairs, the galleried landing allows great views of the open countryside.

The master bedroom has a well fitted-out walk-in wardrobe to one side of the bed area and an en-suite shower room to the other. The en-suite has a large walk-in shower with miniature brick mosaic tiles with a metallic border. There is also a chrome towel warmer, a wc, a washbasin on a wooden plinth and a window with a deep shelf.

Above the sleeping area is a  projection of A-frame beams.

At the other end of Sunnyside Barn’s first floor is the guest suite, which has a sitting area, A-beams  and an en-suite shower room. Here, the shower is tiled with travertine and, as well as a wc, there is a square washbasin on a wooden stand.

The huge family room has a kitchen at one end, a breakfasting and dining area in the middle and a sitting area to the other side

A passageway runs the length of the first floor between the master suite and the guest suite. Off this are three bedrooms and the family bathroom.

In the bathroom there’s a free-standing bath and a very large walk-in shower cubicle with iridescent mosaic tiles. There are also twin ceramic bowls on a wooden stand, a wc and a chrome towel warmer.

Outside, there is a lawned area to one side of the barn, a large gravelled turning and parking area, shrubby borders, a wooden arch over which climbers grow and a large main lawn.

Used originally as a grain barn by neighbouring Northend Farm, the property will appeal to those who have yearned to live in such a conversion, but don’t want the isolation of more rural barns. Although hidden from view well back off Station Road in the village, the rear of Sunnyside Barn is partly attached to another converted building.

Sunnyside Barn, Middleton on the Wolds, is on the market at £595,000. For further details and an appointment to view, contact agents Carter Jonas on (01904) 558200.