A man invested his life savings into buying a dilapidated cow barn and turned it into his forever dream home.
Simon Baker, 52, sold his one-bedroom flat in London to buy a derelict Eryri cow barn in the Machno Valley, north Wales.
Investing all his savings into purchasing the land, Simon admits it was a “big gamble” as the shed had no planning permission.
But he has no regrets about having to spend cold nights camping in the back of his Ford Focus while the old stone building was renovated.
And the now modern-looking shed, believed to date back to 1760, made it to the finalist of BBC One’s Wales Home of The Year programme.
Simon said: “When I saw the shed I fell in love with it – it was a decision that took me by surprise.” Everyone in my family thought I was crazy.
‘I have always had the need to do a construction and restoration project. And I saw that this property had gone up for auction in 2013.
‘It was for sale with no planning permission to convert it. I saw it online and thought it looked like a project that might be good.
A man invested his life savings into buying a dilapidated barn (pictured) and turned it into his forever dream home.
Simon Baker, 52 (pictured), sold his one-bedroom flat in London to buy a derelict Eryri cow barn in the Machno Valley, north Wales.
The building was an abandoned stable in ruins, never inhabited, without access or services.
‘With the right kind of support and a bit of luck I could do it. I bought it before the auction and then some of it fell off, which was a bit worrying.’
Renovation prospects did not look promising as the shed lacked planning consent and was subject to a restrictive covenant from the National Trust, which required its consent.
And the building was an abandoned stable in ruins, never inhabited, with no access or services.
But after carefully preserving the surviving elements of the old cow shed, Simon incorporated clever interior design tricks, and roofs of Welsh slate sourced from the Cwt-y-Bugail quarry, just 2 miles from the shed.
He also worked with several people locally to understand how to best restore it.
‘There was no point in loving the place and then changing it completely. “I wanted to keep stones visible in every direction you look at the barn,” Simon said.
‘I had a fantastic local builder who I was able to convince to join me on this trip; They have worked on these types of buildings all their lives, as they tend to do so faithfully to tradition.
‘It was a challenge to fit everything in and I realize that the best way to use the space is to have a curved staircase. And once I realized that was the best way to do it, everything else had to be set up in curves.’
‘There was no point in loving the place and then changing it completely. I wanted to keep stones visible in every direction you look from in the barn,” Simon said.
“I had a fantastic local builder who I was able to convince to join me on this trip; they have worked on these types of buildings all their lives as they tend to do so true to tradition,” he said.
Simon said: “It fits perfectly into my way of life and that is very rewarding.”
Its renovation has reached the final of the BBC’s Welsh House of the Year awards.
Their new home is located in the Machno Valley, North Wales.
He incorporated slate from a quarry just two kilometers from his house.
He explained that despite being ‘a little scared’ about the task of building, it was a ‘tremendously rewarding process’ to live in a space he designed himself.
Simon said: ‘It completely fits my way of life and that’s hugely rewarding.
‘The land was affordable by today’s standards. I took a big risk by buying the land because I had to invest all my savings in buying it from the beginning.
‘And it was a huge risk because I didn’t have any permission.
‘When I bought this I was living in a flat in south London; It was a big change. It was a big step in taking the project forward, which presented its own challenges.
‘I was a little scared. Building it is quite interesting because you start from the beginning having control and then somewhere in the middle you lose control and have to finish; otherwise you potentially lose everything and have to move on.’
Wherever possible, the old shed beams were preserved. And from the outside the shed looks very similar to the one from the 18th century.
He added: ‘I had done a lot of conversions and have always been interested in the design of the building. I owe a lot of doing this to my father, who was a DIY enthusiast; “My father was probably my inspiration for doing this.”
‘I was a little scared. Building it is quite interesting because you start from the beginning with control and then somewhere in the middle you lose control and have to finish; otherwise you potentially lose everything and have to move on,” Simon said.
The National Trust told Simon that the stable dated from 1790.
It was abandoned because it was “too small for modern agricultural needs.”
Simon works for Network Rail as an incident manager
‘It’s my forever home. I enjoyed living in London and still have to go there from time to time. “I always enjoyed having a contrast in my life,” he added.
He said he could not have built the house without the support of the local community.
As a way of thanking those involved in renovating the shed, Simon decided to apply for BBC One’s Welsh House of the Year award.
And he has reached the final that will be broadcast in December.
He said: ‘I’m not interested in publicity for myself. I wanted to celebrate the local people who worked so hard to make it happen.
‘The wonderful thing about doing a self-built project is that you feel part of the community.
‘All materials are bought from local people and many of the people who worked on it are very close friends. The builders graze some sheep in my upper field.
‘It’s my forever home. I enjoyed living in London and still have to go there from time to time. I always enjoyed having a contrast in my life.’
Simon, who works for Network Rail as an incident manager, says he is even learning Welsh to be part of the community as it is his first language.
He added: ‘People in the town remember milking the cows when it was a stable. The National Trust told me it dates back to 1760; It is quite old, but the reason it was abandoned is that it is too small for modern agricultural needs.
‘I can look around the valley here and they are in different stages of disrepair. Once the roof falls down in the strong winds and the stone pieces begin to be reused and then simply disappear.
“I felt like I could save the life of this humble little barn and preserve it for future generations.”