The Cottage

Residential Renovation

The client brief was to provide a unique space for entertaining. Somewhere suitable to have a family roast, play games, host a party, hold meetings or work from home.  The challenge was how to incorporate the functional needs of these uses without compromising on the concept of the building as a single volume.

The cottage was the first building on the farm and the original and primary accommodation.  A replacement house had left it redundant and it had fallen into severe disrepair, with the granite structure subsiding and the internal floors, partitions and roof rotten and collapsing.

The new roof was designed to span above the original beams, with rotten sections removed and braced between stainless steel brackets.  As a highly insulated warm roof construction, precise positioning of the A frames was critical to retain the existing roof line and granite parapet to the gables.

Internally, the granite was fully tanked and insulated providing an energy-efficient and controlled environment within.

The oak lined mezzanine is inserted like a piece of furniture within this open space, enclosing a study, bathroom, pantry and other storage and services.

A monolithic stone island transitions you between spaces and is designed to form the lower part of the stairs. Above, the cantilever stair floats over the bar providing access to the games room.

As the house underwent a full renovation, a coordinated overall theme was followed, but with contrasting styles of detailing and a mixed material specification to provide a varied user experience of each space that responds to function and intimacy, but also respects the historic interest of the existing building.

Within the existing house all the mouldings were restored and a soft palette of textures and tones were selected to compliment the materials within the new bathrooms.

The landscaping was an integral part of the project. All the external space is designed to respond to the views from within whilst offering sheltered pockets of space to enjoy between the buildings.

The courtyard has been designed for entertaining featuring a built-in pizza oven.

The quality of every single bespoke component is testament to the commitment of our client and skilled craftsman.