02 · Residential

The Maltings

A Victorian malt house in Frome, converted into a furniture workshop with a house above it.

Location: Frome, Somerset
Type: Conversion
Floor area: 310 m²
Planning: 7 months
Build: 14 months
Completed: 2023

The malt house from the yard: red brick, a saw-tooth roof and tall arched windows — **Fig. 01** From the yard. The saw-tooth roof lights face north.

Brief

A workshop and a house in one building

The building was a builders’ merchant’s store from the 1970s until 2019. The client makes furniture and wanted to work and live under the same roof, without the sawdust reaching the bedrooms.

Approach

The piers decided the plan

The brick piers hold up the roof and could not move, which fixed the plan before we drew anything. The workshop takes the ground floor between them at full height.

The house sits on a new timber floor along the north wall, with its own stair. A glazed screen separates the two and seals against dust.

An empty room with brick piers, a pale timber floor and tall windows — **Fig. 02** Between the piers, before the benches went in.

The same brick-piered room with a sofa and low table by the windows — **Fig. 03** The client’s seating area at the south end.

Outcome

Even light on the bench

The roof lights face north, as they did for the maltsters. The workshop gets the same light all day, with no glare on the bench and no need for blinds.

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