Steading conversion

Over the new year break, some friends and I stayed in a converted steading near Banchory, Aberdeenshire. On the whole it was a very well developed layout and presented quite a few interesting spaces.

One problem often faced by anyone hoping to convert their farm building is that of minimising the circulation. Traditional Scottish steadings are often long narrow buildings which do not lend themselves to anything other than a corridor - room solution. This can be unsatisfying.

The steading we stayed in did have a fair amount of circulation but had managed to reduce it's impact; this was achieved by allowing the circulation to become additional space - corridors were wide enough to become occupied areas, useful storage zones or ad hoc sitting rooms. Roof lights had been added to flood the corridor with even top light, making them feel even more roomy.

In the UK we have an obsession with bedrooms. When we buy a house we look at the number of bedrooms, people complain about the size of the bedrooms, clients will tell me that they want fantastic views from their bedrooms. None of which makes sense to me. Okay, if you have a set number of people who need to rest their weary heads then the number of rooms is important but we spend so little of our waking hours in bedrooms that their prominence within the house seems a little overinflated?

If you are planning an extension, conversion or new build, take a step back from the estate agent mentality and really think about how houses are used, where are the kids going to play, do you need a space to stop and read a book. Examine what YOU need.