The Old Exchange Abercraf · Brecon Beacons
Our Story

Built by Gemma & Adam

The Old Exchange wasn’t fitted out by a developer with a catalogue. It was renovated by its owners — slowly, stubbornly and largely by hand.

The Renovation

Keeping the good bones

When Gemma and Adam took the building on, the brief they set themselves was simple: keep everything that gave it character, and earn everything new. The original timber beams stayed. The floors are reclaimed wood. Even the doors are rescued barn doors, rehung on new runners.

What they added was chosen the same way — three-inch solid oak worktops, a deep Belfast sink, a walk-in shower behind glossy green tiles, and the hammock swing seat in the bedroom that guests now photograph more than the view.

The art on the walls is by local artists, and most of it is for sale — so if a piece catches your eye over breakfast, it can go home with you.

Follow the journey — @theoldexchangewales
Mid-renovation — plasterboard up, view already earning its keep.
Before & After

The same doorway, some months later

Mid-renovation: bare plasterboard walls and a doorway looking through to the window opening
During the build
The finished room seen through the reclaimed barn door — vaulted ceiling, lantern and valley view
The finished room
Vaulted living room with the original timber beams restored and painted white between rafters
The beams they kept
Finished bathroom with green tiles and an antique washstand basin
The bathroom, tiled by hand

More of the renovation — and what guests get up to once it’s theirs for the weekend — is on Instagram at @theoldexchangewales.

Come and see it finished

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