and I would love one of these too

Ok - I think I will have to either find a new job or build another house as I just can't take the constant inspiration that keeps popping into my inbox - first the gorgeous barn and now this gazebo thingy - I am suffering badly from building envy.

Isn't this gorgeous though? Round things are understandably quite hard to make in oak (lots of mathematics and joining of grain etc) so we often need to test assemble in the workshop to check it 'in the round' as it were. Which means I get to see pics of the structures before they leave the workshop - fab. Doug, Chris, Joe and Joe have done a brilliant job - skillfully assisted by 'the husband' and the Silver Surfer of course.

This one is heading to Majestic Trees nr St Albans ( a wonderful tree nursery full of all sorts of mature trees and shrubs which would no doubt give me a terrible case of sapling envy - my garden is not big enough for gorgeous gazebos or towering trees sadly) as we are working with them on some display buildings and landscaping projects - worth clicking majestictrees.com to see how amazing it is.  I will let you know once the display buildings are ready and all you southerners can take a trip to see some trees.

oh  - and I nearly forgot - we have planning for the Border Oak contemporary showhouse - YEE HAW! let the fun begin!

Ooh - I'd like one of these

My beau went southward to visit some potential oak frame garage clients (or 'shed carts' as Min calls them!) the other day and by chance drove past this new barn. And guess what? It's a Border Oak house. Small world eh?

It's based on one of our most popular designs - Able Barn - and I love it. I don't know if the owners are going to paint the weather board cladding but I really like the dark grey of the windows and think I will do the same with the showhouse windows. What do you guys think - maybe I should go darker with the showhouse windows as we will have oak cladding that will go silvery grey over time? Ah I love it when a plan comes together!

speaking of the showhouses the little one is underway - the roof starts next week - and looks very dinky and cute (pics soon once the scaffold comes down) but the bigger, contemporary house is still in for planning.........what is taking them so long? Planning approval is one of the most frustrating parts of self building without a doubt.

more heavy snow - but maybe it will bag you a prize?

I thought it might be fun to have an informal competition - and I promise to think of a lovely prize (or prizes!) So, here are the 'rules'..........

Do you live in or near a Border Oak house that would look spectacular in the snow? Perhaps you walk or drive past a Border Oak building that looks fantastic in the frost, or magical in the mist or wonderfully wintery in the early sun - if so take a photo, send it to me at merry.albright@borderoak.com and I will make a winter montage here on the blog. 

The best pics win a gorgeous prize or a donation to the charity of their choice (oh, ok, lets do both). 

Competition ends at the end of February.

'Marvellous Project Manager Mark' sent me the blog topper photo and this pic which are both quite amazing, but sadly not eligible because they are missing one vial ingredient - the Border Oak building (although strictly speaking those oak trees could, one day,  be a BO house .........)

Good Luck!

and then I saw this............!

Blimey! Two magazine articles in one week!

This is the house that features as the lead house in the February issue of Country Homes and Interiors and isn't it lovely? I haven't seen the magazine yet but there is a sneak peak on the CH &I website and it has got me all a jitter! It looks so enticing. 

CH & I magazine is really good if you like, well, country homes and interiors - but seriously, it's a very good magazine with a great images so I would recommend buying it even if we weren't in it.

The couple who live in this pretty cottage are incredibly nice people with a gorgeous tortoise called Darwin (who makes a guest appearance in the new Border Oak brochure) and so 'thank you' to Stephen and Elizabeth for everything - we are very grateful to you both.

p.s and thanks to Vivienne and the team at Country Homes - we really really appreciate your support and think the article looks fab.

The back of the house - Ben and I used to live next door

The house has settled into the village beautifully

a little bit of press coverage.......

This is the front cover of the current Homebuilding magazine - and guess what - it has a Border Oak house on the front cover! A HUGE thank you to Jason and the team at HB&R for this article, we were all over the moon. And an extra HUGE thank you to the house owners who kindly let me borrow their gorgeous house for the day to take the photos and then agreed to share the pics with the world. We are very lucky.

Out now in all good (and bad) news agents, super markets, corner shops and doctors surgeries.

ta da! the finished article

And so here are the pictures of the frame from the previous post - miraculously completed and landscaped! If only real builds could happen so quickly eh?

Doesn't it look great? Modern but considerate and totally appropriate for the site, which is amazing. Well done to the owners, we hope you have many happy memories here.

I'm not usually a fan of oak frames without traditional sole plates (the horizontal beam which lies at ground level or just above the plinth) but this building has changed my mind. I love the way the glazing runs to the ground and the building appears to growing out of the plot - and I bet the natural light inside is amazing.

This is a 'typical' Border Oak glazed link solution to connecting an extension to an older property. It allows you to leave the existing building alone whilst integrating the new building honestly and deliberately.

If you had a view like this then you would want as much glass as possible.......and I love the understated contrast between the two buildings. 

What do you all think?

I can't wait to see the finished result

A lovely client kindly sent these photos to us showing his Border Oak frame being erected by our gang - the beautiful hand made cruck frame is an extension to his home, linked by a small glazed frame. It will be pretty impressive once finished and I will post the completed project pics here.

He also bought one of our outbuilding frames to erect himself - and what a great job he did! Looks very good indeed.

I hope he isn't having to stand there to hold the building up.....

and here is the garage before the rafters are finished

The end gable of the extension

The internal frame is formed by a curved truss and will look amazing internally