She married Ceylonese Proctor and Notary Public, Lieutenant in the Ceylon Royal Navy Reserve, Extra Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General Hildon Sansoni.
[5] She pursued her interest in buildings from childhood after witnessing the highly ceilinged, wide verandahs which were occupied by her father during his tenure as a government agent in Batticaloa, Matale and Kurunegala.
[10] She founded the Barefoot in 1958 in an attempt to empower and guide women weavers in rural parts of Sri Lanka.
[8] Barbara began making geometric interpretations of her paintings on the loom during her early career especially after launching Barefoot.
[14] She along with a small team of four members which also included Ismeth Raheem, Ulrik Plesner and Laki Senanayake documented few of the rare and traditional indigenous buildings of the 17th to early 19th century.
[14] Sansoni had many exhibitions in Asia, Europe and North America, showcasing her textile designs, drawings, paintings and handwoven panels.
[21] She in collaboration with her husband Ronald Lewcock and Laki Senanayake co-authored a book titled The Architecture of an Island (1998) which is a collection of sketches depicting religious, domestic and public buildings of Sri Lanka.
[23] She published a book titled A Passion for Faces in 2014 which recounts the collection of memories from her personal experiences at Barefoot.
[24][25][26] One of her short essays featured in a book based on Geoffrey Bawa which was written and published under the same name by French-American historian Brian Taylor.
[31] In 2016, she was conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree by the University of the Visual and Performing Arts of Sri Lanka.