OPEN house

After years of living in a traditional Georgian property, Jonny Mansfield-Clarke and Julian Clarke-Smith are loving the modern open-plan layout of their converted barn

- AMY MAYNARD

After years of hard graft maintaining a picture-perfect Georgian farmhouse near Tenterden in Kent, Jonny Mansfield-Clarke and husband Julian Clarke-Smith had become disenchanted.

‘We were tired of the constant cycle of looking after an old property and were hankering after a Grand Designs-style house with open spaces,’ says Jonny. There was also the issue of schooling for their son Charlie, now 13. ‘He was moving to secondary and we needed to find somewhere closer,’ adds Jonny.

The couple saw dozens of homes before viewing a converted Atcost barn just outside a Kent village. The house was close to Charlie's school and had lots of potential. It also had an annexe, which would be perfect for Jonny's mum to move into. ‘The space was so exciting,’ says Jonny.