Wednesday 8 August 2012

new photos - number 1

We now have most of our new 2012 photographs sets - most were taken whilst the sun shone and the results are really lovely. I thought I would share some with you over the next few weeks.
Starting with this great manor house, just completed and beautifully finished by the owners who took on a lot of the construction work themselves.


Border Oak designed the house  - based on a classic double wing and two storey porch layout roughly arranged in an 'H' layout.


One wing is a blend of brick with oak frame above - the jetties really create interest and detail


Internally the finish is very light and follows a neutral palette with touches of glamour such as this huge crystal light which makes use of the vaulted ceiling and volume.


The exposed oak frame is a consistent internal feature but doesn't overwhelm the 'look' the owners have created. I think this is in part due to the palette of natural, muted tones and textures and the limited spectrum of colours.


The view through the lobby from the front door towards the open tread stair and full length projecting window


The kitchen has exposed ceiling joists but masonry walls - to ensure that the oak frame isn't hidden by the units.


At the other end of the kitchen is an informal  dining space with a large window.


The sitting room is an elegant but comfortable room with an exposed brick feature inglenook. I love the way the room is naturally bright and light but yet still cosy and atmospheric.


I also like the lack of door - so you can see into the vast hall. This helps share light and the feeling of space. The continuity of colours and floor coverings and textures really works when you open the flow of a house this large.


The hall is absolutely huge! great for parties, christmas and community meetings! The long window brings in so much light - no artificial lights were used for these photos at all.


Another angle of the sitting room - I wanted to show you the projecting window bay (to the right hand side) The windows are bronze casements with leaded glass.

So, all in all a very lovely, light and special family home with a great mix of smart contemporary country styling. I am using some of these fab images in the new (well, reprinted) Border Oak brochure and hope to add this house as a case study on the website very shortly.

coming soon - a pair of cottages side by side.


3 comments:

  1. A small observation, all you houses seem to have only one chimney and a single wood burner, where as historically these type of houses would have had two or three. Whilst accepting that they all have central heating, this does lead to an under chimneyed look.

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  2. Thanks for your comment and observation. Always good to get feedback.
    I think it's quite typical for a historic/traditional cottage (in Herefordshire anyway!) to have just one remaining fire/chimney - older properties (eg 1350 - 1450) would have had a single fire in the middle of the house originally. Chimneys later moved to the end of a bay as a stand alone construction, and with the passage of time many chimney stacks were lost. I bet there are some academic studies on chimneys out there somewhere........

    But I think the main reason why most of our 'new' cottages/farmhouses only have one chimney is cost - it's around £7,000- 8,500 per external stack! They also take up a lot of room. And you are right - the woodburner/fire is mainly atmosphere/aesthetics and not required for heating.

    However most of our manor house designs have multiple stacks, often with decorative tops, shoulders etc etc so it gives some perpendicular emphasis to balance the length/breadth of the house.
    I guess when budgets are being scrutinised chimneys are the easiest to lose - but we have just completed a house with 11 flues..................it's a very big house! You can't beat a great chimney stack in my opinion, so I had better get saving. thanks again for commenting. Love the phrase 'under chimneyed' by the way.

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