It is ironic that a strictly utilitarian structure should ooze more charm and character – and be built of better-quality materials – than most modern houses. But so it is with many barns and farm buildings, which is why over the past two decades many have been converted to residential use.

And not just barns: chapels, windmills, coach houses, water towers – all have their own quirky attractions and can make highly individual and coveted homes; typically with three or four bedrooms and an acre or so.

The charm of a barn is obvious. ‘Their farmland location means that many have peaceful situations with rural views,’ says Ian Hepburn, who runs the Salisbury office of property specialists Strutt & Parker. ‘Their basic design – a large void – gives plenty of scope for impressive interiors. And because they are usually built from traditional local materials, they tend to have plenty of period atmosphere and rustic style: exposed stone and brick, large beams and trusses.

‘Conversions offer the best of both: a period structure with contemporary conveniences and interiors planned, as far as is practicable, for modern living.’

That caveat ‘as far as is practicable’ is important. The need to insert living space into an existing framework means that conversions often have irregular layouts: there might be bedrooms on the ground floor or in galleries and mezzanines; some might be accessed through others.

This irregularity means that, unusually for good-sized rural properties, conversions are not top of the list with families. But they are hot properties for older couples and younger weekenders, who typify today’s buyers of rural conversions.

‘Many weekenders are young professionals who are used to sleek interiors and easy upkeep,’ says Ian. ‘A newly converted building provides both. They want a small-scale conversion with a manageable garden. And they want to be able to entertain in style: even the most intimate conversion will usually go all-out for an impressive living room – full-height, galleried and making the most of oak beams and exposed masonry. Traditional cottages just can’t compete.’

Older buyers are often downsizing from substantial family homes. With a conversion, downsizing need not mean downgrading, which is important – ‘downsizers don’t want to be seen to be downsizing’, according to Ian. ‘Buying a conversion looks more like a lifestyle choice than an admission of approaching old age.

And there is no reason for these buyers to cramp their style. They still want spacious rooms, just fewer of them. Conversions can provide the same dimensions as an imposing period house but with fewer bedrooms.

Older buyers are often attracted by the very feature that can deter families: an unpredictable layout. Ground-floor bedrooms can be put to other uses: a study, his ’n’ hers parlours, a smaller sitting room for winter. And if infirmity does catch up, they can save the upstairs rooms for guests or carers and move downstairs without reconfiguring the living space.

So what are the must-haves in a conversion? It depends on what has been converted, of course, but as many original features as possible will always attract interest. Gothic-arched windows and perhaps some Victorian floor-tiles in a chapel, even tastefully retained machinery in a windmill, preserve the identity of the original building.

Even a utilitarian structure such as a barn will have its own unique features: a large entrance, designed to accommodate carts; wooden beams supporting a massive roof; mellow slates or tiles; fine stonework. And a large eat-in kitchen is essential. Rural living is informal, especially for those who use their conversion as a weekend bolthole, so entertaining in the kitchen is the norm.

Sellers should ensure their conversion is presented sympathetically. Fitted carpets are out – far too suburban; oak floors scattered with rugs are in. And avoid lino in the kitchen: terracotta or quarry tiles are what people expect, in the hall as well if it it isn’t wooden-floored.

The flexibility of the living space in many conversions is demonstrated by the fact that their sales particulars often specify ‘three to five bedrooms’: bedrooms they may be, but there is plenty of scope for you to use them as you like. So buyers must be prepared to compromise. ‘Unpredictability and uniqueness are part of the charm of a conversion, but they mean that you are unlikely to find a layout that corresponds to any preconceived ideas,’ says James. ‘With a three-bedroom semi or a Georgian terrace you know what to expect. The thrill of a conversion is that you do not.’

Nov 20, 2007