Host Kevin McCloud commended the Old Byre for its ‘gentle brutal honesty’ and ‘refusal to lie about what it ever was’.
The property, on the outskirts of Cowes, cost £360,000 to convert and found itself praised by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) panel.
The house won the RIBA South Award 2025 and the RIBA South Small Project of the Year 2025.
Property owner Joseph Kohlmaier said on the show: “I saw some photographs and I was immediately attracted, so much so that I told the kids I will be back in an hour.
“I identified where the barn was, got in the car and came here.
“I let myself in and stood in the courtyard and said, ‘this is where I want to live.”
The house is made up of two spaces from two adjacent barns, one housing a living and dining area and the other a study and bedrooms.
Joseph and architect Gianni Bosford consciously kept many of the original features of the barn, in order to show the building’s history.
Joseph said to Channel 4 there are still remnants of what is likely cow poo on the wall and a swallows nests, showing the lineage from cow shed to award winning property.
Watch the program on Channel 4 Player here.
The house also has a dynamic use of light, with £17,000 worth of insulated facade which brings light in during the day and illuminates at night.
Kevin McCloud, summarising The Old Byre on Grand Designs, said: “The Old Byre is masterful.
“It has a gentle brutal honesty. It is a cow shed made liveable, not just through redesign but a refusal to lie about what it ever was.”
The Old Byre was featured on Grand Designs: House of Year series eight episode four, which aired on Wednesday, December 10.