'It was a complete wreck': Reclaiming a Hampshire coaching house from the earth

When the owners of a Georgian house in Hampshire asked interior designer Georgie Wykeham for help re-designing their coach house, she could barely push her way in through the door to examine the possibilities.

'It had been used for storage and was a complete wreck. When we managed to clear the space, it revealed an earth floor in the stalls, an expanse of open space and an old hay loft upstairs,’ she explains.

Having decided on an all-purpose entertaining area away from the main house, the clients were keen that the redesign would be as sustainable as possible, reusing materials and remaining true to the original form, hence the decision to retain the stalls and convert each into a kitchen, a dining area and a bar. ‘We rescued everything we could, such as a feeding trough we had lined with copper and which now acts as a sink in the bar,’ explains the designer.

The flooring came from The Main Company, which specialises in reclaimed wood floors. A subterranean wine cellar was installed next to the bar. Rotten ceiling beams were replaced, and a steel joist clad in oak. The kitchen, which was sourced from Howdens, is painted in Tea with Florence by Little Greene. The worktop is made from recycled glass, supplied by Resilica.

Thanks to the built-in banquette, it’s possible to sit up to eight people around the oak dining table and a collection of cushions in different fabrics injects the room with pattern and colour.