Worth The Wait

Rebecca and Mark Outerbridge spent three years modernising their barn conversion, while enhancing its existing features

- By Anna Pattenden

Exterior

When the barn was reconfigured, Rebecca moved the entrance to the back, which has magnificent views across the river and offers greater privacy

AT HOME WITH

Owners Rebecca Outerbridge lives here with her husband Mark and black labrador Betsie. Rebecca works in finance and Mark is a managing director. House An 18th-century, five-bedroom barn that was first converted in the 1980s. It sits in 13 acres.

When Rebecca and Mark Outerbridge bought their 18th-century barn conversion in North Yorkshire in 2017, they took a pragmatic view. On one hand they loved it and it was perfectly liveable; on the other they felt it had the potential to be a project they could ‘get their teeth into’.

‘The original conversion was carried out about thirty years ago,’ says Rebecca. ‘The rooms were good sizes but small windows meant we lacked natural light and views of the outside.’ Soon after moving in, they embarked on the planning process for their biggest renovation project to date.