from little acorns.........

another unusual extension/remodel

2012-01-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

While I was catching up on all the photo files in the office the other day I came across these. A very unusual project whereby two buildings have been joined by an oak frame.

I don't know much about the project but it seems from these pics to be very complicated and unique.

Perhaps it illustrates just how 'bespoke' Border Oak can be? It certainly crushes the myth (much loved and repeated by our competitors) that Border Oak only build 'standard' designs and that making frames by hand isn't accurate, adaptable or efficient.

Will be interesting to see how this project looks once it it complete.

NB the first image is before work started - the last image is taken from roughly the same position

extending and remodelling

2012-01-23T06:24:00.000-08:00

This is a project I cannot wait to see completed. A small barn that we have extended with two extra 'rooms' - both vaulted and with typical Border Oak detail such as a glazed entrance and inglenook fireplace. The existing building has also been remodelling with new dormer windows, added framing and a new roof.

I love this old wall - which will give texture and visual interest and works especially well against the new frame. Looks like it might take a bit of work to knock through...............

A 'cruck' frame of sorts (the arched timbers) with a fireplace at the end and french doors onto the garden

The new roof makes huge difference to the overall look - adding visual coherence and ensuring that the old building isn't the 'poor relation' (which can be a problem when adding to an old structure with oak framing)

I like the dipped ridge line of the central section which breaks up the linear layout and ensures the original building is dominant.

But this is my favourite part - basically a large glazed porch with french doors and glazed gable. Mmmm!

Another lovely project that I will try to update you with as the weeks pass by.

Christmas Past

2011-12-30T12:10:00.000-08:00

We thought we might live here in this gorgeous Border Oak cottage for three years - and then build another house. But we have been here for 7 years now! So this was our 7th Christmas and I thought you might like to see my amateur photos of our decorations this year. The kiddie winks made lots of them this year so its all a bit higgledy - but I love what they did!

Min drew Father Christmas, with a silver beard!

I made some rosettes from my Toast catalogues to stick onto presents.

We nabbed some mistletoe and put it wherever we could

And I found a small gilt 'A' from my new favourite shop in Hay called 'The End' (its an acquired taste and Ben doesn't like the shop so I have to shop alone - dangerous!)

We cut some branches of silver birch from the garden and added some tiny paper doves

Min made this wreath from Vibernum in the garden - I was amazed and very impressed with her handiwork

More mistletoe hanging from the porch - Mr Postman was quite pleased/terrified?!

A paper garland made from an old book and magazine butterflies strung across the mantle with lots of candles

My favourite decorations - a felt polar bear.........

...........And some white fleece wrapped around a wire heart

Gabriel chose this new wooden teddy - it was 75p from a local craft fair. I should have bought more!

a simple felt ginger bread man - so easy to make, and best of all it can't be broken (gabriel has tried!)

The whole tree, as decorated by M and G just about squeezed into the corner - it was lovely and bushy and hardly dropped a needle

Min made this when she was three ish - a loo roll wrapped in cotton wool of course

The reception table was my choice - but Gabriel stuck the birds on the branches.

I am obsessed with natural beeswax candles at the moment - I love the colours, the smell and the texture. Some high end catalogues sell these for £10 plus - but these cost between £1 - 4 a pair in local shops. They do burn very quickly but I can put up with that.

And finally paper garlands made of strips of handprinted paper and my left over Cole and Son wallpaper They were easy and fun to make and look almost pretty in a 'homemade' sort of way?

So that was Christmas 2011 - I hope you all had a lovely time and that you enjoy NYE wherever you are and whomever you are with. I will see you in 2012!

With my warmest wishes

Merry

new stuff on the website

2011-12-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

I have been a bit quiet on the blog because I have been a bit busy on the website. I really need to clone myself to complete all the tasks at the moment - but then I would need to destroy my spare 'selves', as I am the first to admit that two of me is two too many. I must be the only person who was upset to discover that I had bought some christmas presents on Monday - the most universal popular internet shopping day EVER - simply because I couldn't bear the thought that I did the same as millions of others......... to have someone exactly the same as me would be very unoriginal wouldn't it?

Any way I digress.......

so what exactly have I been doing? Well if you pop over to the border oak website http://www.borderoak.com/#/flipbooks/ you will see that we know have some very nifty 'magazine' type book things. There is only one on there at the moment, with another 'self build journal' coming soon. I have also uploaded all of our brochures, so you have costs, plans, photos etc at your fingers day or night! you can still purchase the pack and the dvd if you'd rather as some people (ie me) prefer to have a lovely brochure to touch and absorb.

There is also a new case study with more coming.

The only thing really missing on the website now is the outbuilding section - which is VERY nearly ready.
If there is anything else you would like me to look into you just have to ask - once the website is set up my clones will have a bit of spare time on their hands................

p.s this is one of the options I have been playing around with for the new outbuildings brochure......Ben says it is too abstract and scary - I was thinking eye catching and distinctive - but nonetheless it has been consigned to the mental bin and I will try design something not quite so 'odd'.

nice bits and bobs from DeVol

2011-11-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

Some of you will already know that I am a loyal customer of devol, who make splendid painted kitchens, using traditional techniques and lovely attention to detail. They have since worked with lots of Border Oak customers over the last 10 years (ssshhh, don't tell anyone but they are one of our 'black book partners', offering Border Oak customers a very unique discount and service).

DeVol made both of my kitchens and we have been delighted with the quality and the overall ambience of what they do - and I am quite fickle when it comes to 'styles' so it is a credit to DeVol that the units have never caused me any bother - I did change the knobs on mine a few years ago but DeVol have since used my knob (no sniggering please) as the template for their bespoke metal handles . This year they launched a new very affordable 'Shaker' range of kitchen units (It was in the NEC Artisan House and you will be pleased as punch with the prices) but also a range of rustic kitchen accessories - here are a few of my favorite pieces from their lovely range.

I could find a corner of my house for any of these subtle, practical and beautiful items. Could you?

P.S. next year we launch our own Border Oak accessories - I will keep you posted!

A lovely oak framed cottage

2011-11-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

A pretty oak frame and infill panel cottage, designed and built by Border Oak, completed last year. In a gorgeous setting, replacing a tired old property, building this house enabled the young family to create a home that they couldn't have afford to buy. That's what I love about self build - you get a great house, built to your specific requirements, which reflects your taste and both saves and makes you money.

Three dormer windows, a hand made brick side addition and green/grey painted windows - a great combination.

With an extended rear section the cottage is surprisingly spacious without losing its sense of traditional proportions. It also has a lot of glass, without compromising the vernacular essence - a hard thing to get right. We have added oak window hoods to reinforce our attention to detail.

The one end of the large kitchen/family room has windows on three sides - to embrace the garden and enjoy the view - hard to imagine that it is less than 1 hour to the centre of London!

The other end has painted units, a belfast sink, emma bridgewater pottery and an aga - the quintessential modern country kitchen.........

I love the hallway, it's spacious and fully of interest. The doors lead to the playroom, the sitting room and the kitchen.

The utility area leads from the kitchen and sits within the brick side addition. The stable door is crucial for families with dogs, chickens and little people.

Another bright room with glass on three sides. A wide inglenook has room for the stove and logs and gives the living room a cosy ambience.

Upstairs the oak frames provides interest and character, such as door openings such as this

The master bedroom

and its ensuite (above the utility room)

The master bathroom decor follows the relaxed neutral palette that works perfectly with the oak frame - and is so easy to live with I think?

And it looks so pretty at dusk doesn't it (and can you see the gorgeous shepherds hut?) I love it!

scenes from the weekend

2011-11-14T03:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Border Oak held an open day at a small development of houses we have built in a nearby market town called Presteigne.
The 'townhouses' are a terrace of 6 two bedroomed properties, with handmade brick and render externals and slate roofs. They are constructed from super insulated softwood timber frames designed by us and made a mile away - you can't get more sustainable than that! Although there is no oak framing as such, the 'fingerprint' of Border Oak is very apparent in the finishing and attention to detail and the workmanship overall.
It is very unusual for us to be involved in a 'development' such as this, but Presteigne is a fabulous tiny town and the position of the houses is amazing - opposite the church,on a quiet and pretty Georgian street, with the dramatic Powys hills in the distance.
It was a very busy day with a mixture of people coming to have a look - neighbours, developers, investors, potential purchasers and passers by. We even had some existing and past Border Oak clients and it is always lovely to see them and catch up. And it was so great that every single person commented on how well built the houses were and how impressed they were with the finish and detail which made me proud to work for Border Oak.

Here are some images - not great pics sorry, but it was a bit busy to get a clear view - I will pop over and take some more soon.

If you want more information on these town houses please contact the agents Jackson International (www.bill-jackson.co.uk) 01568 610 600

prices between £167,500 and £169,500

Handmade bricks and sash windows - the glazing bars are as thin as we could get made on double glazed units - but worth the effort I think.

The first floor has a vernacular overhang, which can be seen along the existing street scene on the original properties - we had special decorative brackets made to 'brace' the overhang and made the feature as visually authentic as possible (but without being too pastiche). And the guttering is a brilliant plastic version Border Oak often use as an affordable option - with detailed profile and a textured finish so not too shiny - it looks like cast iron.

We also had special door surrounds made - a replica of a local example - which will be painted a very dark green or dark dark grey.

A simple run of town houses - light, warm, low energy, low maintenance and inexpensive. It makes me wonder why Housing Associations, developers etc don't go the extra mile? £167,500 for all of this is amazing value and maybe the start of something at Border Oak.............watch this space!

did you win the lottery last night?

2011-11-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

I don't play the lottery - and would lose the ticket or forget to check the numbers even if I did - but this house is the kind of 'lady luck' purchase that a certain type of lottery winner might buy.........not my cup of tea (I am trying to be a polite as possible) but it is certainly very well built by master craftsmen from the finest materials available (and with an unwavering dedication to authentic replica interior design of unqualified historical merit).

Yes, Border Oak made and erected the wonderful oak frame (one of our largest ever frames - only slightly smaller than our Japanese projects) - and the whole house comes complete with the most extravagant home security that money can buy (the master suite turns into a bolted 'safe room' should disaster befall). And all of this can be yours (including 1 acre of landscaped grounds -just the one) for ............................£15 MILLION!!!! Crikey, as Minnie would say (Minnie, by the way, thinks this house is amazing and beautiful).

P.S why would a house so focused on cutting edge security be on Rightmove (put a search in for Radlett) complete with Google Map link and extraordinary price tag, and feature in The Telegraph newspaper? Surely a half computer literate 'naughty man' using a stolen laptop and nicked iPhone will be jotting this down in his 'borrowed' note pad and preparing his balaclava? How the other half live eh?

autumn is on its way........

2011-10-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

............and the reason I know this (apart from the fact that my porch is full of bronze leaves)? Well, we have all been poorly with one thing after another which can only mean that 'school germs' are out and about. This happens every autumn in this house. Humppppfffff!

But I have dragged myself out of bed to let you know that Border Oak will be at this years Northern Homebuilding and Renovating Show on the 4th-6th November. Please do come along and say hello, we will be there to answers your questions, fill you with inspiration and offer advice.

I am still working on the website (www.borderoak.com)- but it is now on the final stretch as far as building goes. There may still be a few odd bits and bobs and areas that need fine tuning but I think we are on the home stretch. From speaking to people I get the impression that most visitors like the range and quantity of photos and that the new features such as Case Studies are popular too.

We are just designing and building our inspirational 'flip books' - coming soon to the website - some will be self build diaries, others will be virtual mood boards, which I hope will show the opportunity self build and oak frames can offer. The self build diaries will follow different Border Oak projects from start to finish, with regular updates, step by step photos, suppliers lists, tips, cost breakdowns and basically a 'warts and all' overview.

The outbuildings section of the website is also being built as we speak. So that will be the site structure complete - with extras and more detail coming as we develop it. I have already added some 'news' some 'plots' and another case study so feel free to pop over and then let me know what you think of the whole site and what else you would like to see in the future. A few people have mentioned a Border Oak app (which we will look into) and there is an HTML site coming very shortly. All feedback gratefully received!

oak potting shed

2011-09-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

Border Oak build all sorts of oak framed buildings and have an outbuildings division specialising in oak framed garages, barns, swimming pool covers, cartsheds, oak gazebos etc etc.

And here is the latest to add to the portfolio - a pretty oak potting shed built in my parents meadow

Luckily I was able to borrow a dog and a blond haired angel for the day - the dog went home with his owner and I kept the cute boy for myself.

Charlie the dog (who belongs to my mum friend was the BEST doggy model you could ask for and only wanted an ice bun as payment) and Gabriel got on like a house on fire (not a Border Oak house on fire mind you - oak is self charring which extinguishes the flame and only burns very slowly and structural oak actually out performs steel in fire tests).
Gabriel walked up and down, up and down, up and down for the photographer and was very grown up about it all.

My lovely little studio - the broadband is faster in the meadow than in my house!

We had a great couple of hours taking these photos and Gabriel and Charlie were perfect - I hope you like the photos of my perfect little oak framed potting shed. Have a great weekend!

This house is on BBC1 - Friday 16th Sept - 11am

2011-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Watch the this project from start to finish - on BBC 1's To Build or Not to Build.

This house is based upon the Pearmain concept (that was first seen 10 years ago on Grand Designs - which starts a new series tonight) but with many bespoke additions, alterations and specifications. The TV crew followed the brave couple on their self build adventure and I cannot wait to see the programme.

The family are very lovely and I wish them a million happy memories in their fabulous new oak framed house. Here are the photos..........

These pics were taken a matter of weeks after they moved in - I think it looks very established and mature already

The house is super insulated (as are all Border Oak houses) with passive solar design and solar panels and an air source heat pump

The garage has a large room above and is three bays deep - more a barn than a garage

how good is this space? light, spacious, unexpected but cosy.

Another Clearview Stove in a Border Oak house - some partnerships really do endure!

From the kitchen looking through to the 'garden room'. I like the mixture of oak framing throughout this house - more than a usual Pearmain but not so much that it overwhelms.

Looking back towards the kitchen

and into the utility room

The hallway - lovely to see a different approach to the interior with painted woodwork and a mixture of striped carpet and chequerboard tiles. Self Build should always reflect the owners personality.

There is a full exposed oak frame in the sitting room which has lovely ochre yellow paint.

And there is a ground floor bedroom and bathroom so the house has true longevity and flexibility

the rood lights make a huge difference to the landing space

And all the bedrooms have large fitted storage areas

with glamourous bathrooms!

I hope you enjoy the TV show - this will also be a case study on the new website in a few days time. Speaking of which, what do you all think of the new site? be kind................

new border oak website

2011-09-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well guys, I think it is now live www.borderoak.com - but please bear in mind that it is only 'phase one' and may have a few bits and bobs that need tweaking. Obviously I would love your feedback but please be kind as I have had sleepless nights and a nervy tummy for quite a while now!

The actual website 'builder' is away for a long holiday at the moment (he hasn't been sectioned but I know I was an option after a few missed deadlines) so some aspects can't be completed until after his return but if there are bits missing or subjects you want more of just let me know.

There are hundreds of photos and plans to browse but over the next few months we will add more information and technical detail as well as more case studies and regular news updates. We also have mood boards, self build diaries and a brochure depot to add so that our virtual 'shop window' is as useful and inspirational as possible. I hope to add video footage and interactive areas at a later date - all suggestions are up for discussion.

So, there it is, more than a year of my life, the most difficult thing I have undertaken bar childbirth (frustrating, upsetting, exciting, educational, nerve wracking - the website that is not childbirth, in case any of you are 'with child') all there up on the world wide web..............scary!

PS Don't forget another Border Oak house is on To Build or Not to Build - BBC1 11am - Friday 9th.

here is the link for the first house that featured - a beautiful Pearmain Cottage with a lovely country interior
-http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b014grz7/To_Build_or_Not_to_Build_Series_2_Episode_1/

oak frame garden room or oak framed sunroom?

2011-08-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm never sure what to call these rooms. I am pretty sure an oak frame conservatory has a glass roof but what is the difference between an oak framed sun room and an oak framed garden room? mmm, there is probably a technical definition but I am going to call this a garden room because the couple have an amazing garden (you should see the veg plot!)

And I know that I really am spoiling you with posts this week - I have had lots of new Border Oak photos through recently - but these pics were too good to keep to myself. And I know I keep banging on about the new BBC series (To Build or Not to Build) but this house will be part of the series which starts on the 5th, BBC1 at 11am.

With glass on three sides and huge roof lights you can imagine how bright this space is - which must be amazing in combination with the vaulted ceiling and the large open arch to the kitchen.

This is a Clearview Stove - I have one at home and it is brilliant and we have two at the office (which has no central heating and is entirely heated by oak off cuts burnt on our Clearviews)

A wonderful open kitchen and living space with a great balance of oak framing and glass.

Having an oak truss on the return wall not only explains the oak structure of the garden room but also fills the connection space (between the house structure and the 'garden room') which would be tricky to visually link otherwise.

Isn't it lovely?
I am also trying to find a copy of Country Homes and Interiors as apparently we have a house in there (the little cottage I bored you all with at the beginning of the year) and Build It magazine also carries a Border Oak front cover this month. It seems that Herefordshire magazine distribution is about 3 weeks behind everywhere else, so the search continues!

The Border Oak porch

2011-08-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

When Ben and I built our first Border Oak cottage 10 years ago the planners insisted we couldn't have oak framing externally (because our plot was adjacent to a medieval oak frame and they felt people would be 'confused' by a new frame - madness!) It doesn't sound that much of an issue looking back but 10 years ago virtually all Border Oak houses were exposed oak frames and it was a very popular style (and still is).

I remember feeling a bit cheated because my dad had revived green oak framing after 200 years and here I was being prevented from building with it. Luckily Dad invented a whole new building system combining SIPs with an internal oak frame just for us and we decided to be the first to try the system for size. He quickly drew, on a scrap of paper, an oak framed porch to make the Arts and Crafts inspired lime rendered cottage more interesting. The end result was Pearmain Cottage and since then we have built hundreds of bespoke Pearmains all over the UK.

And the pretty Border Oak porch has taken on a life of it's own.....................as these pictures show our oak frame porch design works on all sorts of houses. We even sell it as a flat pack for people to add onto non Border Oak houses. Fabulous!

a self build survey and some TV news

2011-08-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

As you may already know self build (well house building of all sorts) is in the news at the moment with the Government trying to increase the number of houses being built, to shape the type of houses we build, to 'ease' and simplify the planning process and generally give Local Parish Councils more say.
If you are interested in self building (a Border Oak house of course) you may like to fill in the quick survey on the Homebuilding & Renovating website http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/govtsurvey

And on another note I have finally got the dates for the BBC1 'To Build or Not to Build' TV series. It starts on the 5th Sept at 11am on BBC (and on iPlayer thereafter) and the Border Oak houses feature on the 5th, 9th, 16th and the 20th.

This beautiful home features in the first episode on 5th September and also in Ideal Home magazine ( I think it is out at the end of September.......I will let you know when I find out.)

bits and bobs from my download files

2011-08-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Green oak frames will shrink slightly as they adjust to the ambient moisture level both inside and outside. This is why the quality of oak, the way the frame is made and the panel is works with are crucial. In fact shrinkage is actually part of the house becoming stronger - as the joints close in on each member and the oak peg. But this also means that there will be some cosmetic 'snagging' required after a certain period of time (usually a summer and a winter with the heating working).

And luckily if you have a Border Oak house, built by us, you get the wonderful Border Oak snagging service we provide to fill in all the little plaster 'pulls' and other settlement issues associated with a new oak frame. Dave is the brilliant chap who visits the houses to work on the fiddly little bits and bobs. He is very very good and very very knowledgeable about all things Border Oaky. And fortunately for me rather than having a tea break in the van he nips round with a camera to keep me up to date with the 'just completed' projects.

While I was clearing up my desktop (I was supposed to be finding photos for the new website - ooh, only a few weeks to go!) I came across these projects and thought (although they are not professional images and are far from perfectly landscaped), they were an interesting cross section of Border Oak projects.

A large house with a mixture of influences - quite Arts and Crafts really?

I am looking forward to seeing this thatched house in a few months time once the landscaping has taken shape and the personal touches have been applied. A good representation of the flexibility of the Pearmain range

A Halfpenny Cottage on a fabulous plot - views to die for

The rear has a lovely little glazed addition - I love the long vertical glazing bars.

Lily Cottage - sweet and clever how the eaves sweep so low to diminish the volume of the house.

This is the side of the house - a mix of glass, weatherboard, brick, stone and a touch of render. Another Pearmain variation........

........And another.......

and finally a lovely little thatched gem.

Border Oak house love

2011-08-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

Whenever new photos come in there is a general buzz around the Border Oak office. We love seeing photos of houses, not just finished houses but ones being built, ones with builders in (no builders bums now though - health and safety saw an end to that) insides, outside - pretty much anything (although even I glaze over at shots of service ducts or foundation trenches).
So I thought I would share a few of our new pics here too. Many of these houses will feature on our new website and in our new magazine (both ready for the autumn) with a bit more background to each of the projects, so I thought I would just tease you with a small selection here........

I would love to know your thoughts and what type of house interests you most - I am missing a good set of maor house images, but this year we have built /or building about a dozen so hopefully I can commission more photos next year to fill the portfolio gaps.

The first image (above) is of a lovely little holiday cottage built in the woods - deceptively spacious inside thanks to vaulted ceilings and other clever tricks

This is part of a weatherboarded barn tucked behind an old orchard - with very funky ambience lightling that turns the whole house blue and pink - a 'first' for a Border Oak project I think!

Hannah and I travelled up to Cheshire see this next house a few weeks ago and help the photographer with a bit of styling/assisting - this amazing plot used to have a bungalow on it which Border Oak secured planning to knock down and replace with this farmhouse. Impressive and jealous making......

Their kitchen was huge with sliding folding doors at one end creating three walls of glass - over looking a private and huge garden. Why are there no plots like round here (well, none that we can afford, or that are even for sale........)

Although the planners restricted the ridge height (but I guess you could argue they did allow a huge increase in ridge height compared to the original bungalow?) the vaulted ceilings inside give a delicious sense of volume and space.

Next up is a gorgeous Pearmain Cottage variation - but made much larger with an increased width hallyway, rear extension and adjoining barn (with a self contained annex and large studio room).

It is hard to imagine a time when Border Oak didn't build 'Pearmain Cottage' houses - the first (which featured on Grand Designs) was builtt in 2001/2002. It was my first home and my first as Mrs A - which means I have been married for 10 years next week. 10 years?? How can that happen? But to think that all the other lovely people who have built Pearmain Cottages watched and loved our first home together is both humbling and touching. So a huge sentimental 'thank you' to all you Pearmainites across the UK- you know who you are!

and finally, another star of TV - this beautiful house featured on 'My Flat Pack Home'. Viewers didn't get to see the completed house, but I can now reveal that the interior is actually stunning and the outside simply amazing. Another incredible plot that I will never find.........

And how sweet is the blue Gypsy caravan to the right of the house. I really want something like this or a shepherds hut or railway carriage. I will add it to my 'I really want' list (which is ridiculously long already)

I thought the hallway was especially architetcturally interesting - just the right balance of oak framing and natural textures without being too cliched or faux medieval.

And I really like their utility room, with the painted stable door, granite work top and clothes airer.

I have an obession with utility rooms at the moment - my fantasy utility room in my fantasy home that I am fantasy building on a fantasy orchard is pretty fantastic I'll have you know. Maybe we will one day build it and maybe even go on Grand Designs again (if they would have us!) ............??

p.s. the Border Oak face book page is up and running - we would love you to 'like' us if you have time and want to stay in touch with our news.

I'm back now

2011-07-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

We have been on holiday to glorious Tuscany, where there was not even the teeniest jot of oak framing anywhere. How odd.

But there was lots of wine, pasta and olive groves which more than made up for it.

I am now getting back into the swing of things and my list of to do's looks like this (not in any order should the people awaiting my action on a particular task worry about their numerical placement - I will get everything done one way or another..........)

1. Border Oak website (so nearly ready yet so far from finished)

2. Christmas cards (so far away yet why such a rush to get them done?)

3. Artisan chocolate supplier (just so delicious)

4. Photoshoots (so fun to do but such a lot of time away from the office)

5. New Border Oak mugs (so not at all crucial)

6. Cottage portfolio brochure (so hanging over me)

7. Garage brochure (so needed)

8. Country Cabin photoshoot (just such the the cutest little Border Oak house you ever did see) for a book called 'my cool cabin' which is a very cool book, full of cool cabins.

9. The Border Oak magazine - which was a newsletter and has morphed into a full colour 36 page production, all in house - thank heavens for Hannah!!

plus a load of other stuff that I can't remember.

Oh and have a look at these sneak peaks of a beautiful house about to feature in Ideal Home magazine (out in Sept I think). Gorgeous. And we also have a house in Country Homes and Interiors (do you remember my little oak framed cottage?) and a case study in Homebuilding & Renovating and two in Build It. I will let you know when they are out and you can rush to the shops - hey, why not add it to your list of things to do!

PS The long awaited 'To Build or Not to Build' starts on BBC 1 in Sept - with 4 of our houses featured. Very Excited.

PPS We now have a Border Oak Design and Construction Face book page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Border-Oak-Design-Construction/172379092828065

so please like us if you do indeed like us.

a barn tease

2011-07-10T11:10:00.001-07:00

These lovely photos have just come in - a gorgeous oak 'lodge' in a garden.

I wanted to send the photos to the client first and so will show you the others next week after this little sneak peek. It's really very nice and interesting and I think you will love it. There are even chickens and an orchard..........and you know how I feel about orchards.

Hope you all had a great weekend - we went to two fabulous parties at two amazing houses (seriously amazing) and bizarrely met lots of Border Oak clients (and even sold a porch!) A bit tired now though so better blogging next week.

a lot of glass and a low profile...............

I am a big fan of extra wide corridors and 'pointless' space (ie not designated to actually doing something) so this entrance corridor is right up my alley. And the huge windows bring in light and connect the external - imagine the passing seasons changing the light and atmosphere - lovely

and the main room is BIG - more to come next week

A handsome house and a funny story

2011-06-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie because I am supposed to be changing the bed for the impending visit from Father in law (and also tweaking the new Border Oak website - getting more and more nervous that people won't like it though....eeek!)

I found these photos today, of a house that we are currently building, and was so tickled by how perfectly proportioned it was I thought I would share. Although it is quite large, it doesn't seem that imposing - more of a friendly face than a fame hungry celebrity I would say.

Its based on a design called Oakapple Court - which has been in our portfolio for about 25 years which I think puts it in the 'enduringly popular' category. And because the basic principles of design are spot on and the materials are the highest quality it will simply get better and better over the next 500 years. Which reminds me of a funny story.....

One of our designers met a planner, conservation officer and highways representative on a sensitive site we are hoping to buy. In the heart of a medieval village, with very delicate surroundings and a colourful history, we knew it would be contentious. When 'debating' the style of proposed homes the planner pointed to a little oak framed cottage next door and bemoaned how wonderful the original oak frames are in comparison to 'new' houses. The conservation officer agreed and pointed to a range of barn conversions in the distance which he felt were intuitive, sensitive with a distinct sense of craftsmanship. They both felt these houses represented the type of design ethos we should aim for. Our designer tactfully pointed out that we converted the barns 20 years ago and built the perfectly pretty cottage a few years later.

a house in a tree lined street

2011-06-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

I guess that when we all imagine our 'dream' plot we can't help but think of wide bucolic views, orchards in blossom and a babbling brook (that doesn't pose a flood hazard). Dad often jokes that most people are looking for a site that is 'secluded but not isolated, rural but especially well serviced and with a thriving (but quiet) local pub with a buxom barmaid and an organic village stores next door. And with easy access to a motorway but free of road noise.' In other words IMPOSSIBLE.

And as we spend a lot of our time looking for 'perfect' plots it is refreshing to see that often the least expected/promising sites deliver the most rewarding end result.

And this fabulous Border Oak house in a typical suburban leafy road (with easy access to several motorways by the ways) , tucked within a range of mid century homes illustrates exactly how clever self builders can be. The owners took a good location, in a popular area and made it remarkable.

Read all about this project in an upcoming issue of Build It Magazine - I will let you know when its in the local shop (or rather the organic general store next to the Michelin Starred pub in a village surrounded by orchards and populated by buxom barmaids)

Although it has a narrow frontage it has interest and depth - the jetties provide intrigue and shadow with the recessed porch drawing you in. The profile of the roof is varied and strong.

It can be very difficult to build on a site this tight at either side - the brick wall to the left is a fire proof wall. The garden is very long so the house design makes the most of this feature.

The kitchen provides a wonderful view over the garden.

Mixing neutral chalky colours with textures of granite, oak and ironmongery creates a cohesive but informal country effect.

With lots of glazing sun can stream through and connect the interior with the passing seasons

The large inglenook protrudes into the sitting room slightly because the narrowness of the plot didn't allow for an external stack - but in a room this large it makes no adverse impact.

Doors, landings and corridors have been aligned to create long views through the building - a clever space illusion design device.

You really can't beat a vaulted ceiling - height, drama, space and character - definitely worth the extra cost I think.

A shaped entrance into the beautiful ensuite

And finally a clever little room over the porch - an unexpected bonus.
I do hope you like it too - it certainly shows me what imagination and vision can achieve and how an 'ordinary' plot can be transformed.

I have just commissioned about a zillion new photos by the way (well that is obviously and exaggeration) and the new Border Oak website is V-E-R-Y close (but oh so far away) so I hope to bring you more and more posts to tie up with that. And we also have some top secret news that I will bring to you once GCHQ stop bugging my landline..............

awards season again

2011-06-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

Each year seems to whizz by faster than the year before doesn't it? It can barely be 5 minutes since this Border Oak project claimed victory at the Homebuilding and Renovating/Daily Telegraph self build awards - but lo and behold the Awards are now open for 2011 entries .

The entry form can be download here www.homebuilding.co.uk/awards and this years prize is a luxury spa break (whoo hoo!) The standard of winners is always high, usually controversial but certainly interesting!

And if you are a Border Oak client and would like enter your home by all means drop me a line and I will be more than happy to advise or help.

merry.albright@borderoak.com

manor house monday

2011-06-05T04:04:00.000-07:00

OK, I doubt very much that I will ever remember to post about a manor house every Monday (Farmhouse Friday,Single Storey Saturday anyone?) but Mr A was out and about last week and brought back some photos of a Border Oak house so big that he couldn't get the whole thing in one picture. Seriously BIG.

And, although I can sometimes be a bit unsure of very BIG new houses (it's just a jealousy thing) this house has great potential because the the architectural/vernacular detail is about right. This is the kind of house that will get better and better with age - which can't be said about many of us (Richard Madeley maybe? Rob Lowe, probably).

this is only about a third of the one elevation - the section to the left is the 'service' wing if you like, the gable and double porch on the right are the 'front' of the main manor which works backwards. I think it is about 10,000 sq ft. Might be more with the attics and basements.

the blue sheeting protects the brick work from the tannin and is trimmed at the end of the build.

I like the slightly random brick infill patterns - a bit of informality on a house this size adds to the organic feel as an original manor would have been much altered, extended and remodelled over the passing centuries. So bizarre to think that not much separates the craftsmanship used to build this house and its direct Medieval counterpart.

The 'back' section of the house looks great too, with many classic 'Border Oak' elements. I think the brick work really helps break the mass of oak and the chimneys provide excellent 'punctuation'. The reason the house works is probably because proportionally it is strong. They haven't just stretched it and made it wider and taller to get the size they needed but have added incrementally and observed vernacular spans and pitches. Can't wait to see the end result.

P.S I know this is a Sunday, not a Monday, but I couldn't wait til the morning to post (well, I am out all day tomorrow)

is this a change too far

2011-05-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

I found myself with an unexpected 10 minutes to play around with the blog. Ben is quite upset and his exact words were........'ooooh..........ohhhhhh..............ummmmmm...........no'.

But given that Ben is adverse to even the slightest impulse change of any description I thought I would check with my loyal band of readers.

What do you think? I'm not entirely happy with it myself but if you think change is good I will invest a bit of time making the blog more 'Merry' (or less merry if I am getting on your nerves). None of the standard templates really got me that excited to be honest. I think I was just bored and now look what has happened!

I know there must be a 'look' I can use but if you were all happy with the old layout, colours etc I will stick to that.

do let me know

ps - I woke up this morning feeling decidedly unsure - so have reverted to white and will definitely work on something better.

the lovely new blog http://saniapell.com/athomeblog/

looks very similar to what I had in mind (I already have key and tape measure images that we have used in other brochures) - but obviously Border Oaky instead.

Better do some 'real work' now.

A house - from the drawing board to the plot (the construction equivalent of field to fork?)

2011-05-24T06:27:00.000-07:00

When you 'buy' a house from Border Oak there is a veritable troop of people involved (some modestly beavering away behind the scenes - unlike myself who would trade in the family pet to appear in a lifestyle magazine apparently).

The sheer amount of design work for each home is incredible and as we often build the house as well as make the frame we need to produce copious amounts of detailed and exact working notes and construction drawings. These cover every element of the build from drainage to site survey, bat housing to renewable technology, window arch detail to chimney top design. There is no other oak frame company that produces such intricate and knowledgable notes and drawings - because no one else builds the house from concept to completion.

And so I thought I would show you just the teeniest glimpse into a 'real' project and what is produced by our amazing design office and fabulous builders.

Once the frame is designed (say between 8 and 28 A1 pages) and the construction layers drawn (another 50 odd pages - I know, quite mind boggling, just imagine you are a Border Oak project manager with up to 10 jobs on the go? That is a lot of paper in the back of your Audi estate. Imagine if one day you drove into flood water and your car got swept away holding all your files and drawings and computer and mobile and camera - unlikely, but true for poor project manager Dan.) Anyway where was I? And we also have to do the Building Regs and apply and meet the Code for Sustainable Homes criteria (yes, we do all that and NHBC approval applications).......phew......anyway once all of that is done, Ed T can feed the info into a whizzy magic programme and produce this clever little cut through.

He can also produce a visual 3d fly through which would give you a virtual experience of a house that hasn't been made yet. Isn't technology fabulous?

Well in truth these things don't make too much difference to the project but they are 'fun' I guess and can be quite educational and informative.

So wind the project clock forward 6 months later........and ta da! A real house to look at (which perhaps renders the virtual version obsolete?)

But in conclusion I think the two images show just how accurate our designers can be/need to be and how thorough the design process at Border Oak really is - not just in relation to the beautiful oak frame but for the whole project.

Obviously there are endless other design process involved in between these two stages. Not to mention 24 weeks of hard work on site and from our Project Manager (in this case Dan, but with a new car). Without all the specifics produced by the Border Oak drawing office I can bet you £500 that the 24 weeks would stretch to 44 (at least).

And did I mention my new obsession with stone work? I am helping with the finer detail of a lovely project faced in stone and now dream of brick window reveals and aggregate mortar mixes. Good job my fantasy/imaginary home (which if I keep blethering on about will one day come true?) is a mix of Herefordshire stone, oak and glass............

It's been too long!

2011-05-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it feels like an age since I posted. A mixture of holidays and hard work have taken up the past couple of weeks and now I have so much to tell you. I will try to spread the news out over the next day or so.

As I write this I have Gardeners World on the TV in the background - for a good reason though. We've got a stand at Malvern this year, for the very first time. We have a beautiful potting shed and a circular gazebo on display and I spent the day there yesterday dodging the showers and admiring the show gardens.

And guess what? We won an award for our stand presentation! We didn't even know that the stands were judged so it came as a huge surprise to us all. Luckily a lady at the office has particularly green fingers and she has done a fabulous job. The judges said they loved our posh outbuildings and the simple palette of planting and gave us a few tips so that next year we might get a gold (apparently every plant pot must be hidden or covered). We did our best because we love making our exhibition stands look incredible but we really hadn't put specific effort into winning medals as such - because we didn't even know they would be inspecting us. Next time we will be prepared!

The Potting Shed also gained quite a following from garden designers and magazines and so watch this space for further developments. The gazebo was sold today for a Special Show Price of £4000. Pop over to the Malvern Spring Flower Show if you want to see what our wonderful craftsmen can achieve -its open until Sunday night.

The Artisan House - NEC 2011

2011-04-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of the completed Artisan House that we built at the NEC in 5 days. I thought you might like to see it.
The concept is pretty simple - a contemporary cottage that uses prefabricated 'cassette' panels to wrap around the internal green oak frame, insulated with recycled glass and incorporating a home office/studio for 21st Century Artisan's. We clad ours in kiln dried oak with a brick plinth laid with lime mortar.
The underlying aim was to make it highly thermal, natural, pragmatic and affordable so we up scaled the insulation, made it as airtight as possible, eradicated any thermal bridges, avoided any petrochemicals, toxic, or overly processed materials and used timber (all FSC certified), lime, clay and other natural materials that could be reused and were not environmentally harmful. The cost of a three bed (1400 sq ft) home (as pictured) is £112,000 fully built - but if you add in kitchens, bathrooms, decoration etc and all the renewable technology we used I think the COMPLETE house cost (ie ready to move in) would be about £160,000. That is pretty amazing for a home that meets CfSH level 4 and 5 I think.

We would love to hear your thoughts - things you like, things you are not sure about, what other features would you like to see in the expanding portfolio etc etc?

Anyhoo - here are some pics. I haven't added the photo of me being interviewed by Croatian TV - think Borat but with a lady (who asked me if the people lived in our houses with sheep and cows inside too). But maybe if you leave me enough comments I will post that picture too (don't get excited - its not that funny).

front - the solar panels provide domestic hot water and the air source heat pump fires the underfloor heating

The oak pergola (or is it a verandah?) was a big success as it gave depth to the back elevation and was beautifully made. You can just see the PV panels in the middle - for electricity.

The projecting gable enabled us to have a family bathroom with space for a bath and a shower. The ensuite bathroom was huge so could be divided into dressing room/ bathroom. The jetty over the front door provides visitors with shelter and also adds projection and interest to the design.

The interior is light and simple - with just enough oak to give you the 'border oak' essence - without dictating the room.

Kitchen by DeVol - lights by Screwfix!

The woodburner was optioned as a back up heat source for our EPC /CfSH rating. We can get the house to level four (depending on plot specifics) or 5 (by using triple glazing and a few more renewables) but the basic fabric of the standard house is rated exceptionally well.

Painted windows in muted heritage shades, galvanised guttering, beautiful bricks, lime mortar and a rustic/modern edge are becoming some of Border Oak's trademark features.

And so I hope you like it - even if its not your cup of Earl Grey I hope it illustrates our craftsmanship and workmanship, and our commitment to building the finest sustainable homes for all sorts of people. Exciting times!

ps don't forget our Open House Day - April 22nd 10 am- 3pm.

open house day

2011-04-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the invite to our 'open house' day on Good Friday. I do hope some of you can come.
We will be opening our house (based on the Pearmain Cottage) and the pretty oak framed cottage I blogged about for months - so you get to see a variety of cottages, new and old (well our house is 6 years old - does that equate to 'old'?) large and small (well, ours is about 1600 sq ft and the other house about 900 sq ft).

All you need to do is call the office (01568 708 752) and book a slot - Hannah will take your details and then send you directions.

We will have portfolios and brochures and a team of Border Oak people on hand to answer your queries.

Can't stop to chat though - I have a house to sort out!

farmhouse fantastic

2011-04-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

I have some lovely friends who have recently completed their beautiful Border Oak home - and if you buy Ideal Home magazine this month you too can have a look at their wonderful oak framed farmhouse.

I have added some of the photos here, but there are lots more in the article itself. It has a vibrant, homely ambience that really jumps off the page - someone who visited their house recently even remarked to us that 'stepping inside was like being embraced in an oak hug' - high praise I believe! And even more wonderfully a baby is now on its way - thus proving the magical properties of a Border Oak home (I think that is a claim that requires independently verified scientific support - of which I have none).

The design is very classical Border Oak - one wing in full oak framing with a jetty (the sticky out upper level with lovely shaped feet and brackets), the other wing is SIPs and oak with a brick outer face.

The kitchen is arranged as a large living, cooking, eating space which works so well for families (and for entertaining I imagine - I have the same layout here but we never have people round, because Ben is not a social butterfly and finds it all a bit of a faff (aka as talking to people) , but my resolution for 2011 is to have lots of pals round and to drink lots of wine. Just to make sure that the open dining/cooking/living arrangement works of course - all in the name of research).

The hall way is open to the sitting room so both feel larger and less formal

Clever cupboards built into the eaves..........leading through to a posh en suite. My en- suite is just being painted (don't worry, by a professional not me) - so hopefully it will look clean, if not glamourous. Not sure is ANYTHING I have ever done could be called glamourous - maybe in the next house? I doubt it.

I like how the house is full of personality and fun - and I love this idea of a wall full of family and friends

I also love the big bold brave fabric choices - it works so well with the granite and the grey painted units. My gorgeous new roman blinds by the ever amazing Marina (hello!) are ridiculously timid - stripes, plains and spots - all in grey, beige, cream etc. The nearest I got to crazy was a bit of floral - in french grey. I need to experiment.

Splashes of aqua thread the interior together which is furnished with a mix of inherited pieces and ebay finds - layers of textures, with some patina and resonance really work well with the new oak and natural materials I think.

And the plot is, quite simply, spectacular - on the edge of a beautiful village, large, with mature trees and surrounding farmland = J-E-A-L-O-U-S

Rush out and buy yourself a copy of May Ideal Home - I shall be testing you all with a multiple choice exam.

The next post will be about the Border Oak open day (at my house and a nearby cottage) on Good Friday. And I also have a post to do regarding the NEC show - when I get the photos. And the website is crunching away (I think) along side our magazine/newsletter. So many balls in the air as usual! And I was supposed to be on holiday this week..............

more photos from the NEC

2011-03-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

When I woke up this morning these photos were in my inbox - and as you can see it is pretty much finished! Well, as with all builds, it is the little fiddly bits that eat up the time and I know there will still be loads to do over the next few days but it is such a relief to see that the house is really taking shape.

This is the studio/office/utility/ground floor bedroom - which has a HUGE ensuite bathroom in the first floor. I think the solar panels are going on the roof.

I have been really worried about it being dark inside as some parts of the NEC are very gloomy. It seems that we might have a sunny patch though judging by the photo. I imagine it will still be dark even with all those windows.

In retrospect I should have asked for a four light window in the middle bay rather than the three light - as you climb the stairs it is a lovely feature (I have a four light version here at home)

But all in all our little eco house is looking fab - now I just have to pack 3 suitcases (one for me , one for each tiddler) make a cake, a cottage (he he he) pie (for mother in law who is coming to help out with childcare) pack the car (with all the props) print off about 50 photos, collect my dry cleaning and find some ribbon.............the list is getting shorter.

If I don't get chance to post before I leave, fear not I will be back next week with a show round up. Looking forward to meeting you all and getting my life back!!

who wants to see a Border Oak house built inside a big shed - day one?

2011-03-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

When you think about it, it is a very strange concept - a real , life sized house that has been built once, taken down, driven up the M5, unloaded and is now being built again in a big metal shed. But progress looks great so fingers crossed the house will be ready for next Thursday. Please say you will come and have a look........NEC National Homebuilding &Renovating Show Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (24th -27th March)

So these are the floor panels that we have made - just for the show (we have to protect the floor). I have white oiled the ply - well not me actually doing the oiling itself you understand (plant based natural oil by OSMO and FSC timber of course) but the floor panels will make the ceiling heights a bit lower than in the 'real' house. These floor panels also help with the speed of the build.

The oak frame is simple and sits in special box holes made in the floor panels - you can see the holes to the left.

Can you see how much machinery we have to have for a little house - ridiculous really (and very expensive) but very safe and much quicker.

This is the kitchen oak frame - done in a couple of hours!

And these are the external walls going round - finished in oak cladding with stainless steel fittings. The walls are prefabricated (insulated with eco recycled glass as well) in our workshop so again, its all pretty quick. Eat your heart out Germans!

Can you see the black sheathing at the bottom? We will have a brick plinth here with lime mortar - fabulous.

And from the other side. Due to time constraints we will leave some of the walls exposed internally like this rather than dryline it all.

I am hoping that I can get photos every day between now and next Wednesday ( I need them to see what I have to remember to take with me!) If you would like free tickets just call the office 01568 708 752.

a sneak peak - more to show at the show

2011-03-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

I am officially not very good at blogging, it has been so long since I gave you anything new to look at - but as an excuse we are all pretty busy at work getting ready for the NEC National Selfbuild Show (pretty busy = manic)

There is so much to do and so many things to remember. Building a whole house (and a brand spanking new never been built prototype house at that) in 5 days sounds so simple when you say it, but the reality is that it is a blimmin' crazy amount of work for everyone - but I think we will just about get it all together in the end.

One of my jobs is to sort out all the graphics, photos, portfolios etc and so last month I commissioned lots of new photographs. And one of the lovely projects was this gorgeous little barn. It may be small from the outside but seems so bright and spacious, surprisingly big too.

And if you fancy seeing more of this fabulous two bedroom, single storey oak framed barn you will have to come to the NEC - call Border Oak for free tickets!

There is a Clearview Stove at the heart of this house - with an oven and hot plate too. We are having a Clearview Stove at the NEC showhouse too - we have worked with Clearview for more than 25 years and have one installed at the Border Oak office which heats the whole building using our own off cuts (ben and I have a CV here too - but he always forgets to bring me any wood.........)

I love the projection that gives the front an 'entrance' space - such a small addition that makes a huge difference to how the building functions

can you see the clever little stairs behind the kitchen? there is a bedroom in the vaulted space above the other bedroom and bathroom. It has open mullions to stop it feeling too enclosed. basically it is a 'bonus' room in the dead space which I think is a great way to stretch a small footprint

the main living room has a vaulted ceiling and so although the kitchen would be tiny if subdivided, the height of the room and the long vistas give a wonderful sense of space. The beautiful oak is wonderfully articulated in a space like this

lots of windows, a light stone floor, pale furnishings and the high ceilings - all these make the space bright and airy. It would make an amazing holiday bolt hole -which is exactly what it is!

NeC show house progress

2011-02-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

It's all go go go at the mo mo mo - all hands on deck for the NEC show (did I tell you that we are building a whole house in three days?) Sorry, that sounds like a lyric from a terrible song.

Thought you might like an update on progress

Well the house is currently half up in our workshop (it is too tall to fit in so we will have to build it in two bits)

But it looks really great - sort of simple, modest and exciting all in one. Its bigger than I imagined but I don't think thats a bad thing- especially as it has a large home office/studio (to enhance the home working idea). The oak frame looks especially nice and very simple (which helps with the affordability angle)

I have been filling my time with sourcing items to go with it and trying to get publicity, brochures, exhibition material all prepared and ready. It is manic and to make matters worse/better its half term too. I feel very bad for my lovely children that I am pretty much tied to the laptop and not giving them the attention I should. If its not the laptop its the phone - you can tell I have been making lots of work calls because Min now answers the phone with an official sounding 'good morning, Minnie speaking'.

So far I have found a lovely kitchen www.devolkitchens.co.uk, a fabulous woodburner www.clearviewstoves.co.uk and some amazing, local paint www.potsofpaint.co.uk and a great stair runner made from Shetland undyed wool by Roger Oates www.rogeroates.com. All of them have very high sustainability credentials, most are local, all work really well and also look the part, so it should be exciting to see it come together in 4 weeks time. And most importantly all the companies were delighted to be involved with our innovative new product which is very encouraging.

I am hoping we will have our FSC accreditation and know the result of the FMB award by the time the show opens but most of all I am hoping the new Border Oak website will be up and running too - even if not fully complete. Watch this space! A sneaky peak below

better pop off now- so much to do....................

I forgot to say........

2011-02-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

We have two magazine articles out at the moment.

Pop by the news agents and get your hands on Homebuilding and Renovating to read all about a barn style home built for around £170,000 and while you are there pick up a copy of Build It where you will see a gorgeous Halfpenny Cottage on the front cover. Lovely photos, lots of interesting tips and general inspiration from people who have 'been there, done that, got the mug - a limited edition Border Oak mug).

Homebuilding and Renovating

Build It

ps And I think we have something going in the Daily Mail property section on Friday...........

sorry for the delay - let me make it up to you with this lovely house

2011-02-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Based on the Pearmain Cottage system (oak frame encase in SIPs) but with a brick outer face, this house is a large three bedroom cottage on a long and narrow plot in a Conservation village in Herefordshire.

With an uncluttered country atmosphere it has a simple and understated oak frame, perfectly balanced with oak joinery and a muted palette of natural materials and colours.

The garden room has glass on threes sides and folding doors into the kitchen making the space flexible, light and interesting.

The oak frame is quietly expressed throughout and gives a contemporary edge to what appears to be a traditional brick cottage - it also allows the interiors to flow without over dominating.

We under took a complete build package for the lady who lives here - she even bought the site from us. So our typical attention to detail is prevalent - from the rounded shoulders of the fireplace to the dentil course brick work and lime mortar. We also provided a project manager.

Interestingly, there is no conventional hallway, it is simply open plan - which makes the sitting room very large but may not be to every ones taste - lord only knows what callers would make of me in my jim jams gaffawering big belly laughs at My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding should they knock at our door one evening. The P.J's may be from Toast and match the tonal spectrum of my Baileys Loft Sofas but you might still want a division between the Jehovah's Witnesses and the couch potato ........?

How tidy is this utility room? Amazing! The roof light also floods the space with sunshine and will bean idea I definitely steal for my next house

A very pretty bedroom - with full height side walls (pearmains are usual 1 .5 storeys tall - this is two storey)

And a posh en-suite over the sun room. Note the rounded ceiling lines.

the owner has also planted a lovely cottage garden so that she can really benefit from all the glass. Wish I had space for a garden room............I know a lovely oak frame company who could build one!

the open day from December 2010

2011-01-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

I have finally sorted through the photos of the open day we held in hampshire before Christmas. It really was a lovely day (although I felt a bit strange as I had wisdom tooth trouble and the antibiotics were a tad strong!) and we met some great people - some new friends and some old chums.

The project we were lucky enough to borrow is complex of three cottage/barns arranged in a courtyard, each with a different look, as if a range of old outbuildings had been converted/remodelled into houses. Although not entirely complete on the day (the previous two weeks had been hampered by the snow) the properties looked beautiful. It was very kind of the owners to let the Border Oak team (and more than 110 potential customers, including some lovely blog readers - thanks for coming!) look around their properties. We will be hosting a whole range of open days in 2011 and hope to see you at one of them perhaps?

The back of one of the houses shows the vernacular mix of materials we chose to give the project an organic softness - the brickwork was especially admired on the day. The low eaves make this property similar to a bungalow, but with a projecting gable to improve the head height upstairs - so it doesn't look like (or feel like) a bungalow.

The corner unit is the largest and had lots of interesting features - one of my favourite features was the large oak frame with glazing for the hallway section as seen here. I also liked the idea of the passage to divide the properties (planning restrictions wouldn't allow 'detached' houses, so this a clever idea and gives access to individual garden spaces to the rear)

The owners will sell these two properties (they have had several offers already and hope to market the barns in the very near future) and their daughter lives in the third.

There are two separate cartsheds for garaging, which looked amazing - much better than having a patch of tarmac divided into the requisite allocated parking spaces you normally have to provide for multiple dwellings don't you think?

A great example of an inglenook fireplace that protrudes into a room rather than sits on the outside of a house - this is between the two larger barns. I am quite geeky about inglenook proportions and was therefore delighted/relieved to see this - simple but just right (and so easy to get wrong - trust me!)

The corner of this house was glazed - the oak part is fixed while the white joinery is two sets of sliding folding doors - bright, contemporary, beautiful and unexpected (and very popular with visitors).

I liked this bit so much I came home and redrew the plans for my fantasy home (what? don't you all have sketches of your dream home? I have floor plans, furniture layouts, material spec, landscaping plans, fabric/wallpaper samples - everything bar the plot or any money. Don't worry, it's not as sad as it sounds - oh, Ben tells me that it is tragic rather than sad). But just look how lovely all that oak and glass is. And because the oak frame isn't plastered everywhere else in the house it really has impact when used like this.

The other end of the same room - just enough oak frame to make sense - lots of space and further enhanced by a utility room and large walk in cupboards/pantry too.

and the outside of the kitchen is here - and you can see the mixture of materials here , oak, glass, weatherboard and brick. getting this right is crucial and I think it is something Border Oak do really well. These materials will all weather beautifully and will work well with the gardens once planted.

Anyway what do you think ? Were you there on the day? Would you like to come to one of our open days? And what kind of property would you like to see? Just drop me a comment and I will do my best to serve!

I have posted some of our amateur photos here but have also just commissioned professional pictures (if the sun ever returns?) so will post those here too (or maybe on the new Border Oak website - which, at long last, should go live in March. Just in time for the NEC show where we are building an entire house in 5 DAYS - yes, that's exactly what I thought when I heard!) You HAVE to come to the NEC National Homebuilding and Renovating Show to see if we pull it off. No seriously - you HAVE to come. Otherwise all the work, grey hair, wrinkles, not to mention money, would be pointless.
5 Days to build a house - even the Germans would laugh in their leiderhosen at that schedule.

2011 - a win win year for Border Oak

2011-01-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

I do hope that you all had a peaceful and relaxing festive season and that the New Year has treated you well so far. I had a deliciously lazy holiday with my wonderful family and fabulous friends - and did absolutely nothing for the longest period I can ever recall, which is why I have been a terrible blogger (not that didn't want to 'post a post' for you but more that I hadn't got anything interesting to tell you). Please accept my deepest apologies (that is if there is anyone still loyal enough to be reading this!)

But 2011 has got off to a great start work wise with the amazing news that two of our projects have won prestigious awards and January sees us with Front Cover features in both Homebuilding and Renovating and Build It! AMAZING!

Do you remember me spouting on about this barn conversion / remodelling / new build / extension / restoration project? Well it was awarded Best Conversion by The Daily Telegraph/Homebuilding and Renovating Self Build Awards and features in the HB &R issue that is on the shelves right now. I am so very happy for the owners who have worked hard for many years, with dedication and vision to save a building from the rubble (and they were great to work for too - a pleasure!)

And when you look at the views you can see why the new oak and glass extensions were needed - a plot that most of us can only dream about I guess........

And we also heard, just before Christmas break, that the pretty cottage below has also won an award in the Federation of Master Builder Awards and will now go forward for the overall national prize at a ceremony in London in March - hosted by Phil Spencer (it will be interesting to see if his 'energy' is quite the same with Kirstie by his side?Who will boss him around or tell him what to think?)

This lovely oak framed house ( a three bedroom cottage in a Shropshire market town) is much more 'typical' - the plot was part of the owners garden and they opted for a complete build package by Border Oak.

So it just shows that both sides of the self build coin can deliver remarkable - hey, lets blow the trumpet "Award Winning" - results (that is if you chose the right company to help you of course!)

I can't wait to bring you more Border Oak news throughout 2011 - and I will never leave you for so long again (well maybe next Christmas perhaps)

Well that is enough of the celebration news (ie boasting) I will sign off now with goodwill and my very best wishes for The New Year (if it wasn't 3.20 in the afternoon and I didn't have a school pick up to orchestrate and some brochures to redesign I might have cracked open a bottle of fizz and toasted the new year and awards with a few glasses of bucks fizz........I really shouldn't.........should I?)

Merry Christmas to you all!

2010-12-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

A lovely reader asked for a Christmas styled Border Oak home and so I searched my archives and found this - our home, decorated for Christmas three years ago! It was quite funny looking through the pics and seeing how the house and our decorations have changed - basically there are a lot less because

a) I have no time to make all the little details and fun things and

b) Gabriel has no appreciation of 'seasonal interior arrangements' - in his mind a bauble is a ball, a wreath is a throwing device, flowers are for eating and presents are for giving back to whoever gave it to you (I know, what kind of child doesn't like opening presents?!)

But I thought this may just get us in a festive mood.............

The surprising thing is how well the landscaping has done over the last three years - the beech hedge at the front is now 4ft high and THICK! It all looks a bit sparse in this pic but in reality it is quite verdant! Well, it is currently under 7 inches of white fluff.

The hallway table has gone - but you can see my beloved Sophie Cook pots and the Cote Bastide jar I bought from a gorgeous shop call Igigi - in Hove. I think it has featured in a few Border Oak photo shoots! This is a prime example of what has changed - can you imagine Gabriel and a table of candles? OMG as a teenager would say.

The sitting room is still pretty much the same as this - the tree is bigger and in a different position with a few more decorations (I like to buy one or two a year, last years polar bear and Mins home made angel are current favourites) Breakable stuff is at the top, the rest is fair game.

We have just moved the kitchen table around so we can squeeze a few more chums round for New Year. I love the wooden chair, made locally and recently gave one to my adorable God son whose 1st Birthday it is today. Min and Gabriel still use theirs and lots of people ask about them - I know that they are completely non Health and Safety but neither of mine have ever fallen out. Jumped, yes, but not fallen.

Gypsophylia is much underrated if you ask me - pretty, subtle, frothy and inexpensive = perfect flower.
I am wondering about changing my lights - I still love them, but they seem to be everywhere I look now and change is good right?

It's not this tidy anymore - not even close. New blinds in the new year, yippee (and maybe new cushions and rug too, but don't tell Ben).

I LOVE WREATHS - I love how they look, I love making them. This year we have a viburnum wreath which isn't as pretty but was all that I had in the garden. I used my french pruning clippers with leather handles bought at Daylesford which was a JOY. I am a girl of simple pleasures (some might say a simple girl)

Min found this feather and it sits in my memory cupboard now - she is very good at finding things for my 'brochurees' as she says.

again, a 'free' wreath made from ivy found in the lane behind my house - it was hanging from a tree so was long and perfect for winding around the stairs - this was the left over end. THis year someone beat me to the hanging ivy so we are greenery free - apart from Mistletoe!

And some little details........

And so although my house no longer looks this neat or this green, I hope you enjoyed this distinctly Christmassy post. It is snowing here and so it is time to crack open the mulled wine and wrap some pressies.

Merry Christmas to you all - I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing day with the people that mean the most to you.

calling all border oak house owners!

2010-12-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

I have just been sent these gorgeous photos of a Border Oak house in the snow - one of them now graces the border oak website home page - www.borderoak.com. Thank you Alison!

And this got me thinking.............
Email me a few snaps of your Border Oak house in the snow or frost (you can be as artistic as you like - ie out of focus) and I will enter you all into a draw for a famous Border Oak goodie box and the best pic can be our Christmas card next year with a donation going to a charity nominated by the winners!
merry.albright@borderoak.com

Isn't this just lovely - like the winters of my childhood (or is that my mind playing nostalgia tricks on me?) The river in my village has however frozen over for the first time since 1963........my dad has lived there since a baby and he remembers the whole village walking on the river, including a horse and cart (yes, he is OLD) Strangely they also had a bonfire on the ice, which seems to me to be a Health and Safety violation?

The house is picture postcard perfect - a lovely cottage which also featured on My Flat Pack home - which I have just heard has been recommissioned because the first series was the Home channels most watched programmes. Excellent news!

And speaking of Christmas cards I am off to collect this years from the most amazing letter press printers (in nearby Ledbury) tomorrow - I will write a new post about that once I have collected them because it really is worthy of a whole post. My most exciting 'find' of the whole year I think.

no 4 - the floor plans

2010-12-07T05:23:00.000-08:00

Lots of you have asked for the cottage floor plans - so here they are. I made a few changes to these - omiting the kitchen door, rejigging the upstairs landing and bathroom door and re positioning the kitchen units and bathrooms suites - little things that have made quite a big difference to the house which has a small foot print (so space maximisation is crucial).

If I were to give any tips for working with a small ish cottage it would be this:

1) Plan your kitchen and bathroom layouts with the utmost care - and be clever rather than crowd the rooms with units and fittings. For example all the kitchen appliances are built in which means the eye isn't drawn to unsightly white goods (which make a small room look cluttered). We bought a small dresser to act as a larder and display, which matches the units but also works as a stand alone feature. We used a concealed cistern in the downstairs WC for the same stream lined approach and turned the bathroom door outward (so it opens on the the landing) which gave more useable floor area.

2) Think of any potential 'view through' opportunities. I made sure you could see the outside from one end of the house to the other - aligning door ways and making sure colour schemes were tonal/complementary from one room to the next. Your eye can then 'borrow' space from the adjoining room and has an extended line of vision which gives the perception of spaciousness.

3) Consider the interior treatments - I chose oak boards for the entire ground floor so that your eye isn't disturbed by different materials and the rooms have a harmonious relationship (it is also less expensive because , despite oak being more costly than travertine, the slab could be laid to one level and we only needed one trade to lay the flooring (a carpenter - versus a carpenter and tiler if we had two coverings)

I also had the ceilings, windows and walls painted the same colour throughout - I think having white ceilings can work when the ceiling is flat, but not when the ceiling is vaulted or sloping. We painted the upstairs doors the same colour so that we didn't have 'wood wars' (ie too much wood, conflicting against itself in terms of colour, texture and general orangeyness)

4)Buy the best you can - one advantage of a small house is that there isn't much to buy in general , and so you can probably afford to finish the house well. Hand made roof tiles, hand knapped cobbles, oak flooring, blacksmith made fittings, reclaimed stone hearth - all make a big difference in little cottage but proportionally aren't that much more than 'cheaper' alternatives. It would have been less expensive to have flat ceilings but the vaulted ceilings are a significant feature and make the upstairs feel large and bright. Luckily the house was so pretty externally that I only had to spend about £800 on plants and shrubs to 'green' up the lovely courtyard and pathways.

If I think of anything else I will let you know...............and if you have any specific questions do leave me a comment, I love to read your comments and it makes writing the blog worthwhile. Thank you!

No 5. the externals

2010-12-06T03:15:00.000-08:00

No 3

2010-11-30T03:42:00.000-08:00

The kitchen was made by Sambourne Kitchens to a Border Oak design - it is fully integrated with a dishwasher, washing machine and fridge behind the doors. We added a small dresser/larder for storage. The oak shelf was made by my cousin to my design as I didn't want too many wall units.

My cousin also made this pin board I designed - I have used one of my many antique sheets (that usually sit in a cupboard somewhere so ben won't moan about me buying more old sheets that aren't for making beds with - he finds it very confusing. I knew that I would find a purpose for the antique linen one day!)

The Shaker boxes are from Border Oak and similar chairs can be found at many of the antique shops in Leominster, Ludlow or Hay - I think this was about £100 - miles better value than a new chair I think.

I especially like the landing. Here we rejigged the floor and balustrade to create a few extra square feet - not much I know but it makes the landing feel completely different. And originally the ceiling was flat but it seemed a shame to hide the oak frame, so we added a velux roof light and a handmade eco wall light (made by local potter Yen Robinson) and now the landing is bright, full of texture and interest. It is also big enough for the bathroom door to open onto the landing , making the bathroom more spacious.

I love this bed! I bought if from Tinsmiths about 5 years ago and it has served Min well - Gabriel will now sleep in it and the cot can be given away..........the baby days are officially over I guess? Boo hoo!

Anyway, the star garland is easy to make and the box file was from Llewellyn and Co in Hay. The rabbit lamp was from........um.........I have forgotten! sorry. And the cowboy picture (in honour of my father who likes cowboys - not in a Brokeback mountain sort of way I must stress - more in a leather chaps sort of way, which is not much better is it? Lets just say he has wanted a cowboy outfit for a while, oh lord I am making him sound like one of the Pet Shop Boys.....I will leave this subject now - oh dear) anyhoo the picture is by Belle and Boo.

The tatty old box is just one of my 'finds' that other people can't believe I actually paid money for. I have a lot of tatty stuff - which is different to tatt.

Ad here is a view from one bed to the other - lovely.

External photos and floor plans to follow.

No 2

2010-11-27T06:11:00.001-08:00

This is the back door - painted in F&B french grey. I really like the painted timber against the oak and lime render and hope the stainless steel handle avoids any 'olde worlde' trap?

The wreath was made by a local lady - her company is called Bare Blooms - and cost a mere £15!! I usually make my own but don't think I could have found anything as pretty for under twenty pounds.

This is probably my favorite view, from one end of the cottage to the other - and I think is illustrates how using a simple palette throughout the house can give a continuity and harmony (the sofa is the same colour as the kitchen units and we used Linnet White by Dulux everywhere else, even the ceilings).

The woodburner was salvaged from another derelict cottage - but with a spray of paint and some new glass it was good as new. I made the butterfly picture using the love letters I sent to ben when we were younger - I think the sentiment was lost on him!!

You can just see the patio garden through the beautifully wide French doors - I designed some raised oak beds with an oak bench built between and then planted the beds very simply with large box balls and two conical yew trees. It made a huge difference and looks very smart. I planted white flowers and shrubs everywhere else with box hedging lining all the paths and a run of lavender along the back.

The hallway worked out very well in the end - I was so worried it would feel claustrophobic but by leaving the kitchen door off, lining up the wc wall and setting the stairs back it actually felt roomy and inviting. There was actually plenty of space for a desk and somewhere to hang coats and put on wellies too. Behind the oak door is a loo. The mirror on the desk was made by my cousin to my design - I bought some 'antiqued' glass scraps when I went to see my bestest ever chum last year, then found a warped bit of carved and painted wood at a local reclaimation yard. Having a carpenter cousin is very handy and I think he is used to my strange requests and always does a great job. He also made the desk for me too. The handrail was made by the Border Oak blacksmith - we got it right eventually!

teeny tiny cottage - installment 1

2010-11-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

So, I studied (very carefully) all your thoughts and considered your recommendations most seriously and it transpires that your most requested requests were:

1. More small houses

2. More interiors

3. Information on the items and products within

And so I proudly bring to you a diddy little house with lots of interior shots of which I will let you know where the stuff came from! Now that should cheer up your weekend - snow or no!

Here is installment No 1............and beware, there are quite a few photos to come (I will nudge you to wake you up some time on Sunday)

Sitting room - special features = extra wide french doors, rounded fireplace sides, oak floor. We found fabulous reclaimed flags with rounded edges for the fire hearth and used handmade bricks laid with lime mortar provide texture.

Kitchen - open plan to the hallway (which helps both rooms feel larger and less partitioned), matt granite work tops, eco friendly down lights. I used oak boards throughout the ground floor to streamline the view through and avoid any thresholds or change in levels. It is around 110m square in size so every trick that gives the impression of space is crucial.

Front bedroom - vaulted ceiling and handmade painted windows finished with fabulous silk blinds (the blinds throughout were made by the marvellous Marina - a past client who now makes all sorts of soft furnishings - these are the best Roman blinds I have seen, and believe me I have seen a few).
Main bedroom - both bedrooms are very generous doubles, which I thought was better than have three pokey rooms. I love this space as it is symmetrical and the exposed oak is just right. The photos here show the oak as a darker shade than real life - but we styled the photos on a VERY dark day so the light played a few tricks on us.

Simple classic white bathroom suite with 1930's style rectangular tiles. And although the suite is simple the room was far from - we went through about a zillion possible layouts and couldn't quite fit a shower in but in the end it worked very well. The best decision was probably swapping the door so it opened onto the landing rather than into the bathroom. I have a bit of a 'thing' about the way doors open - sad but true.

Well as I said, installments of more photos coming to you throughout the weekend with details of the products in the main pics. Enjoy.

panorama drama

2010-11-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

A client very kindly sent us some lovely photos of his oak garden room and porch and also added a clever set of panoramic photos of two Border Oak cottages we are building next door to him. We often find that our projects come in clusters like this - seems the Border Oak word spreads like a panoramic lens...........

The cottages are a Halfpenny with glazed lean to (thats the woody one) next to a Suckley type Pearmain Cottage (a bit like mine) and I think they make a really good pair. And the plot looks fabulous doesn't it? Can't wait to see these two once they are finished.

p.s The porch and garden room look great too don't they?

drum roll please........

2010-11-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

So firstly a MASSIVE thank you for all comments, suggestions and general all round niceness.

It is great to know you like the blog and even better to know what you would like to see - I will aim to please!

And so enough of that, I really should just get on with the important news - announcing the lucky, randomly selected, winner of the Border Oak goodie box...........so without any further prevarication..........here is how we came across the winner........ha ha ha!

I wrote all your names (including those who who emailed me at work) onto some slips of paper, folded them and put them all into my beautiful mixing bowl (it says full, half full and empty in typewriter font which I think is adorable and makes the bowl, well, a pleasure to mix in) sorry, where was I? Oh yes, all the names went into the bowl and Minerva (who is dressed like a slightly mad old lady because she is poorly and our 'sick day' rules include wearing whatever you like and watching Mary Poppins as many times as you can while eating chocolate biscuits under the cashmere blanket and no chores - lucky children eh?)

Anyway to build the suspense here is a picture of Gabriel - who didn't get to pull out a name but did get to play with the Kitchen Aid and lick the bowl..........

And here is my wonderful niece Willow who popped by just as were picking out a name and had no idea what we were up to but so wanted to pull out another name - therefore we have a 'runner up' who will also receive a little prize (congratulations Alison!) But the first name out was...................

SACARLEYSRABBITS!!

Min's reading is getting pretty good but neither of us could pronounce this name! She, however, was very very excited that a rabbit had won our competition.

So if Alison and Sacarleysrabbits could send me a message with their addresses I will pop your parcels in the post.

All of your ideas were useful and interesting and I will now make sure that I blog about all the bits and bobs you mentioned. Some of the ideas (self build diary, photo case studies etc) will make their way onto the Border Oak website. Here on the blog I will put more effort into smallish houses and making sure you get a regular bit of oaky eye candy and info on where to find the 'stuff' that creates the "Border Oak Look". It's going to be fun - thank you!

THE HAMPSHIRE OPEN DAY

2010-11-18T03:42:00.000-08:00

We would love to see lots of prospective house builders at our open day - a development of three bespoke oak houses in a courtyard complex, with air source heat pumps, oak outbuildings and lots of interesting features.

We don't hold many open days and so this is a great opportunity to come and look at our work and get some inspiration.

Call the office to book an appointment and leave your details.

We will have mince pies and mulled wine so you can linger whilst browsing our portfolios.

See you there!

ps later tonight - the winners of my first ever give away -it's so exciting I can barely breathe!

last chance saloon

2010-11-14T05:51:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder that there are just two days left to leave a comment and enter the draw for a bag of goodies - I will randomly select a name on Wednesday to win a selection of treats (including a limited edition Border Oak mug - I know, I know, so exciting you are all jumping around your kitchens as I type!)

All you need to do is leave a little comment about what you would like to see on this blog and hey presto you could be a winner - it could be you!!

And to keep you going, here is a little teaser of next weeks blog.........the long awaited teeny tiny cottage I have been building with my dad (well strictly speaking, he paid for it, I chose stuff for it and other people who have 'real' skills actually built it).

enjoy your weekend!!

ps if you can get a friend to comment I will add your name in to the draw twice (but make sure they let me know who told them about the blog) easy!

reader survey

2010-11-08T02:33:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to thank you all for reading my blog - I know I am sporadic, unfocused and that the post are all a bit samey (too much oak framing?) but it is wonderful to think that people like Border Oak houses.

When I started it I really had no idea just how many of you would bother to check back in each week. I am really touched that somewhere, in the techno ether, there are people reading about the houses, and about Border Oak and my family. Ben found the blog stats on the weekend and it has freaked me out a bit to know that anyone actually reads it but I promise to try and make it better and more regular now that I do know. Apparently I have quite a following in the Ukraine (well 2 readers) and also a regular visitor from Afghanistan too (hello to you all!) which is exciting.

And so to say thank you to you all for your interest and loyalty I am holding a 'giveaway' (that's what real bloggers do yes?) and if you leave me a comment and let me know what you would like to see more of on my little blog I will enter you into a draw to win some Border Oak goodies (well, maybe some 'normal' stuff too- it will be lovely I promise). I will keep the competition open for a week or so. I love reading all your comments and your thoughts so please let me know what you like and don't like and what I need to do more of to keep you all happy!

Thank you so much.

some sunny skies........

2010-11-08T02:17:00.000-08:00

The weather here is officially rubbish - and so I guess this is the beginning of many bad hair days for me (think Michael Jackson from the Jackson 5 era).

It was bad enough at the village bonfire party where I wandered round a muddy field in the rain looking for Ben and Minnie for nearly an hour - only to find they had decided to go back home without us - but by that point I looked like a cross between King Charles the Second and a boufant poodle. And the school run this morning in torrential rain, gale force winds with a push chair and an umbrella was not a good look. I almost thought about phoning school and saying Min was a bit 'under the weather' (see, not really a lie but more of a difference of interpretation?) but decided my own vanity shouldn't scupper the education of my children..........that is my dedication to motherhood.

Anyhoo - here are some photos with lovely sunny skies to remind us all that we are a nation of distinct and beautiful seasons. Which reminds me - I have taken the last of this years photos (and yes the weather was rubbish then too) so will post the new pics here sometime this week. And then hopefully I can concentrate on the new website (I have decided to be firm and maybe a tad pushy to ensure that the site is up and live in a reasonable time - ie before 2012) If any of you have some favorite websites that you think really work, or look amazing, or push the boundaries (in a good way) do let me know. All ideas gratefully stolen - I mean 'borrowed'.

Autumn photo's

2010-10-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready for two days of photo shoots and always try to fill up on inspiration and ideas beforehand. In searching through my desktop I stumbled across these pics which seem to bring an 'essence of autumn'?

This week is crazy busy with two birthday parties to do (Min asked for an enchanted woodland tea party so the house is full of toad stool stuff!), general half term chaos, a day at work and the landscaping of the temporary show house etc etc so please forgive me for not blogging much. I will make it up to you!

Photos are:

Top left - One of my favorite 'fire' shots taken at a great Border Oak barn two years ago - I love the photos from that day

Top R - Taken in the workshop, a little capsule of the carpenters day to day life, the teaspoon obviously hadn't been used in years as it was thick with sawdust.

Bottom L - an arrangement on a mantle including a printers block, hedgerow flowers, earthenware jug and pine cone - styling on a shoestring!

Bottom R - I can't take credit for this, it was arranged by a very talented customer - very autumnal........

the stuff of dreams......

2010-10-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

If I could find my dream plot and build my dream house (oak framed in case you were wondering) I would also like to build a dream outbuilding - somewhere to park the car, hide the wheelie bins, with space for a potting shed and overspill storage (because the vaulted ceilings in the dream house mean having no loft). And while I am dreaming I think I will have some rooms above the garage so the mother in law can stay (of course she is always welcome in the house if she wants to be woken at lark o'clock by the babes), or teenagers can escape (not that I know any teenagers - that is how old I am) or maybe even to let as a holiday cottage (to help pay for the dream house).

Anyhoo, here are some gorgeous pictures of barns and garages with rooms above. I'm off to have a nap and dream about walled gardens..........

p.s I forgot to say that these lovely buildings are all Border Oak outbuildings - splendid

A woodland barn.....

2010-10-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Jeremy , the photographer I work with a lot, has just sent me these great photos of a Border Oak barn he has just shot for Build It magazine. And the fab clients emailed me yesterday to say that they were being featured in the Sunday Express this Sunday! Great! Mr A will be dispatched for the newspapers come Sunday.

I get a warm sense of Autumn from these photographs - and Autumn is my favourite season (because it's baby G birthday, a month later Minnie Moos' and two weeks after that its mine and I am off to Daylesford Organics to meet my best pal for lunch and shopping). I'll look forward to reading The Express property section in front of the fire (burning the Border Oak off cuts) with a cup of something warm and an apple crumble in the oven.

an autumn house

2010-10-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

More shots from the woodland barn...............

please vote for the oak house

2010-10-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

One of our houses has been shortlisted for the Daily Telegraph/Homebuilding and Renovating Awards (yippeee!) and so I wondered if you could all help me by adding your vote to the 'Readers Choice' poll please?

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/awards

The owners are so lovely and worked incredibly hard to rebuild the pile of rubble - living in a caravan for years through extreme weather and transforming an old collection of stone walls into their dream home.

I will be so very grateful if you could all place a vote for a true self build of epic proportions and an outstanding end result - tea and cakes for all who vote!!

thank you v much

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/awards

THE OAK HOUSE

p.s you need to register first in order for your vote to count.

more workshop photos

2010-10-04T10:52:00.001-07:00

Chisels, drawknifes, plumb lines, vices..........and sawdust.

each frame is given an individual set of 'tags' which are based on roman numerals. These are inscribed by hand once the frame is made, test assembled and approved. The tags can help identify each piece and also aid the erection crew as the tags are sequential - ie XI, XII, XIII. No two frames will ever have the same tags and each carpenter will devise his own 'alphabet'. Beautiful inside the home don't you think?
The Border Oak workshops are big enough to test assemble whole oak frames inside - the frames aren't sent to site until they are perfect.

We make a lot of sawdust - some is collected by a local man who smokes award winning salmon.
and the carpenters also sharpen all their own tools - a very satisfying job I think. I wonder if I could do my kitchen knives on that?

how we make the frames

2010-10-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

The other day I showed a lovely magazine editor around Border Oak - he was especially interested in our workshops and our carpenters who craft each frame by hand, using many of the same techniques as medieval carpenters. I had arranged for a photographer to spend the day with us too and he took over 700 shots during the day - some of them are atmospheric details which really capture essence of what we do. I thought I would post a few here..........

This is the front of our office, built about 20 years ago. We have just had the little garden bits re landscaped and I am pleased to report that the beautiful climbing roses have survived their first ever prune - and a dramatic prune it was. The roses were planted by a man called Yogi who sadly died a few years after planting them. He is very much missed by the original crew of Border Oak so the rose plants are sentimentally significant - we built a house and garden centre for David Austin, the king of roses, a few years ago and I like to think that the 'roses around the door' approach helped a little bit.

Anyway this is one of the carpenters interpreting the 3D technical drawings produced by our designers - the drawings provide a strong visual but the carpenters still need to translate this onto beams
initially the beams are marked up in felt tip

and those markings are cut and shaped by hand

We don't have a mass production line, everything is done by hand. there are two or three basic cutting machines though they date from the 1950's!

More to come

do you remember this?

2010-09-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

A while ago I added a post about an art studio and office - and boy, it was nice (and I was uber jealous)....do you remember? Well the clients were kind enough to let us send the Border Oak photographer to their beautiful home and here are the lovely pics. And I am still uber jealous.

The inky grey of the stairs and the front door is so striking and fantastic - coincidentally we have just chosen a dark grey paint for the 'little barn' at Border Oak. Dramatic and moody, but surprisingly comfortable too.
With an office downstairs with exposed oak and slate floor and a lofty, light studio above. But it could also provide guest lodgings, holiday lets, a retail space or even a straightforward 2 bed cottage. So many options whirling through my little brain!
The paint splattered trug and pots perfectly reflect the landscape beyond - encapsulated by the country flowers on the table taken from the garden.
A wonderful building, finished beautifully and an excellent blend of purpose and aesthetics. And nice photos too! Like I said - UBER jealous.

a little taster

2010-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I am trying to put together an open day for Border Oak, it just takes so much arranging - which I am rubbish at!

The plan is that Ben and I are going to open our house and possibly our neighbours oak framed farmhouse too. And we are also going to open the doors to the cottage Border Oak have been building about 10 mins away. It's nearly finished with just a bit of landscaping, snagging and carpets left to do. I will do a professional photo shoot there next month too so have to collect (beg, steal and borrow) furniture and props to fill it. Luckily I have found one of our lovely past clients now has a 'cottage industry' (pun intended!) making roman blinds and cushions etc so she is making blinds from beautiful fabrics for us. But to tease you I am posting some pics here to give you an idea of what it looks like. I think it is very pretty and am very pleased with the end result - what do you think?

And when I have the 'real' photos I will post lots and lots so you can see what a difference a professional photographer makes!

I'm really pleased with the kitchen - its a smokey grey with a hint of green in a simple but detailed style and continuous kick board. It also has a matt granite work top and an induction hob....oooh I really want an induction hob in my fantasy kitchen - I thought I wanted an Aga but an induction hob is the way to go- with a boiling water tap and a concrete and rough oak counter.......sorry what was I saying? Oh yes, the kitchen, it has a slim line dishwasher, fridge, washing machine and to compensate for storage there is a dinky dresser too. Very smart.

And there is oak flooring throughout. very very smart.

The outside is sooooo pretty - and attracts a lot of attention from passers by. The windows are lovely and made by a fantastically talented joiner - he made my windows too - who sadly and suddenly he died last month.

Can you see the little oak window hoods? My dad really likes window hoods and so I like them too. And they have been very practical as there are three birds nests in the eaves (see - Border Oak houses are VERY eco friendly) and the hoods have stopped the passers by getting pooped on. Maybe I need an oak bird table to encourage the birds to poop somewhere else?

thatched glory

2010-09-09T05:07:00.001-07:00

Although lots of our work is now quite 'modern' in many ways, we are fortunate to still be commissioned to build a diverse range of traditional homes, and it is probably these homes where people are more prepared to invest in traditional rural skills and craftsmen. It is wonderful to be able to straddle the divide of cutting edge technology and development and the quintessential English craft. We are very lucky.

To illustrate the point - here's a pretty thatched house nearing completion - with a darling little bird on the ridge as a personal marker of the thatcher. And inside the frame will bear the personal marks of the Border Oak carpenter who handcrafted the oak. Ahhhhh........

detour part II

2010-09-09T04:45:00.000-07:00

And this is the other house we visited on our way back from Hove.

I don't know if you could really call this a 'cottage' as it is actually quite big - but it has the essence of a country cottage, and all the cottagey features you would expect. I particularly liked the brick work (which is odd as I'm not normally fond of brick) and the roof tiles and also how the size of teh house had been cleverly diminished through the design.

Although we couldn't go inside on the weekend as it was all locked up - the project manager has sent me these photos. And I am pretty sure that once complete it will have beautiful gardens as our clients own a chain of garden centres!

a gorgeous new house/barn (or three)

2010-09-07T07:07:00.001-07:00

Mr A and I took the bambinos to Hove last week. We had ice creams, dipped our toes in the sea, and went to the zoo (I know, I know, I'm not keen on animals in captivity either, but when you are 5 and two seeing a monkey with a bright red bottom is still funny - it gets worse, I had to go on a Thomas the Tank engine train ride and wave energetically to a life size plastic Fat Controller, afterwards Min broke it to me gently that the FC wasn't real, desperately trying not to hurt my feelings. A bit like the time she said very politely that I probably shouldn't go jogging anymore because when I came back I didn't look very well.) so a good time was had by all. And on the way home we took a slight (3 hour) detour to visit some Border Oak projects currently underway. Both houses were stunning and I will share the second when I find the lead to upload pics - here is the first......

I already knew I was going to like this one as the drawings were great - but it was much nicer than even I had imagined.

It is a complex of barn type buildings, designed to look as if they are the outbuildings in the grounds of the house next door. The buildings are actually divided into three units (three beds each). I was particularly taken by the subtlety of the overall scheme but also the brilliant details and quirks that have made each 'unit' quite unique. And we have used lovely materials throughout so it al hangs together perfectly - vernacular but not pastiche.

The brick section will be one house, with an amazing garden room with wrap around oak framing with glazed panels. The weather boarded part is another 3 bed house and has a glazed central hall and a protruding sunroom. The third house sits at right angles to this and is attached by an oak covered walkway.

I know I am utterly biased but the quality of workmanship on Border Oak projects impresses me every time. I really like these little windows, and the bricks, mortar, lead flashing and arch detail make it a real point of interest. Fabulous.

This 'lean to' breaks up the flat and long elevation brilliantly and as it is glazed on three sides it makes a huge difference to the light and interplay with the eventual garden. I love the extra covered bit at the end too - a lovely place to have a chair and enjoy an Earl Grey.

This is the inside of the vaulted, wrap around, oak frame. I think the space will be amazing, and you can already see that the light will stream through and also give a little glimpse of who is coming and going. Perfect if you are a nosey neighbour like me.

ta da!

2010-09-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

Just another small way Border Oak can help transform your house. The infamous Border Oak porch, as seen on Grand Designs, Build Buy or Restore, My Flat Pack Home, Country Living, Country Homes and Interiors, Homebuilding and renovating, The Times, The Telegraph, The Express.................etc etc etc.

Looks good doesn't it?

front cover house

2010-08-24T06:16:00.001-07:00

Hello friends,

Firstly I must say a humungous 'sorry' for not writing much these past few weeks - and when I do write something it's not even very interesting - so I am very VERY grateful that you even bother to visit this blog. Thank you - I will try much harder.

The reason I don't get to blog much at the mo is that

a) I seem to be a bit busy doing my 'proper' job (the job I get paid for, not sure what the 'job' is exactly but hey ho)

and b) the tiddlers are on holiday and there is too much fun to be had making aliens out of scrap paper and baking cupcakes (although it was me that made the alien - can you believe they didn't want to make scrap monsters after I had ruined my Country Living mag by cutting thousands, well dozens, of scary eyes, arms, spikes, hairy bodies and grizzly mouths? Ben was very impressed with my creation however, although he thought Min had made it so looked at me pityingly when I confessed. Oh and it was me that made the cakes because they were too bus eating the raw mixture and dipping licked fingers into the sprinkles).

And to try and prove that I do actually have a 'proper' job here is a front cover Border Oak house from Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine - out next week. I had forgotten about this house which I handed over to the magazine more than a year ago, but sometimes that happens I guess. There was also a Border Oak cottage in Country Homes and Interiors Sept issue (still in the shops) take a peek at the house on www.windfallcottage.com) - but I can't take credit for that article or website- I was too busy making gallons of pink icing........

Halfpenny or Ha'penny?

2010-08-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago my Dad came up with a design based on the medieval cottage next to our offices - a little black and white house that unusually had masonry gable ends. As gable oak frames are time consuming and expensive to make he thought that a more 'affordable' house could be designed with softwood and brick gables instead. And if the roof was simple and the floor plan followed traditional bays it would be even more cost effective. And if you designed an 'annex' in weatherboard that contained the utility room, WC, en-suite and other functioning bits (boiler, larder etc etc) then surely you were on to something.........

Well, the resulting cottage was called The Halfpenny (it had a baby brother called Farthing Cottage but it was a bit too dinky for most) and formed part of the Border Oak 'Affordable House' concept. With a starting price of around £60,000 for the frame it is still our most 'Affordable' - alongside Pearmain cottage - and a rebrand of the concept is currently on the drawing board (think pick'n' mix but for handmade houses).

Here is one of the latest Halfpenny Cottages, built in the garden of the owners previous house, with stunning views and every modern comfort you could wish for in a 21st century cottage. Affordable or otherwise ('affordable housing' means so many different things nowadays?) - it makes a very pretty house don't you think?

location location location

2010-07-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

Look how amazing this site is.........I am seriously jealous!

The house was built for a family who spent many, many years in a caravan waiting for planning approval for an agricultural workers dwelling - they spent all seasons in the caravan, working on the family farm and proving the need to be near their animals. And I guess this shows what happens when you persevere with a genuine set of circumstances. A fabulous oak cottage in a great plot with a beautiful horse for lovely people. ahhhhhh.......

Oooh, what a great idea - I was looking for a giant spoon and fork for my kitchen wall a few years ago but I LOVE this display of antique implements hanging in their hall. Maybe I will have a look on ebay for something similar or maybe some old shop signs (not actual signs as such - but giant object representing the shop - an huge key for a locksmith for example. Have I gone as crazy as I sound?)

Looks great anyway

what a handsome horse

p.s thank you for all your 'open day' comments. We are going to do it - sometime in October I think (enough time to paint and tidy) so I will let you know when exactly.

home sweet home

2010-07-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I pop over to my parents house for my little sisters 30th Birthday.

This morning I met a lovely couple who built a large Border Oak house in a nearby village - on a great plot that they have totally transformed. I had popped over to chat about the Homebuilding and Renovation awards (they are going to wait and enter next year to give the garden time) but we got talking about my parents house and how Border Oak started.

And so I thought I would post a photo of my parents house - the first Border Oak house, and the first full oak frame made since the mid 1700's we think. It probably isn't what people imagine and it certainly doesn't look new - but it was where I was brought up and I LOVE it. What do you all think?

p.s. we are thinking about having an open day here at my own home to show a 'normal' Border Oak family home (after the TV programme we have been inundated with enquiries!) Would people really want to look at our little cottage with its garden full of toys and scribbles on the wall? Might be worth a try?

another new house

2010-07-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

I have so many great houses to share over the next week or so........here's the first.

This is a project we built a few years ago for a lovely family - they kindly sent me some photos which really show how wonderfully the house has mellowed. It's a large house, I guess around 3000 sq ft, but isn't at all stuffy or ostentatious. Lovely to see how a Border Oak house improves with age like a decent bottle of red.................which gets me thinking - is 2 pm too early to start a bottle of Chianti?

watch Border Oak on SKY TV tonight - monday 19th july

2010-07-19T03:11:00.000-07:00

We have just heard that the long awaited 'My Flat Pack Home' series will start tonight on SKY TV

Virgin 265 or Sky 246 at either 9.00pm or 10.00pm UK TV Homes.

Presented by Amanda Lamb it will follow the build of one of our oak framed houses. I don't have Sky but will try and find a clip that I can upload here and will be badgering my friends with Sky to see if I can borrow their sofa. It is going to be so exciting! The Border Oak website hits have already rocketed.

We have three different oak framed houses being shown on these dates below. We are so very lucky to have some lovely customers who don't mind the TV cameras following their dream home being created- watch the series if you can- it sounds great!

19th July

28th July

3rd August

boo!

2010-07-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

I bet you thought I had forgotten all about my little blog? No fear!

But I have been super busy making ridiculous amounts of work for myself - trying to prove that 'working from home' is actually viable.........

In no particular order here are some of the tasks I have been wrestling into submission (aka making a list every day of things to do - do none of them - but at the end of the day add a few more 'to do things' onto the aforementioned to do list) oh dear.

1. A new, all singing all dancing, Border Oak website

2. A new, all singing all dancing, Border Oak Outbuildings brochure

3. A new, blah blah blah, set of design portfolios

4. Brand new branding (one of the founders retired so the headed note paper needs changing and as it is our 30th year we have a change of mini logo - quite exciting having a new look!)

5. Helping some of our lovely, lovely clients enter a self build competition (boy have I been humbled by how kind and passionate our clients are - very touching).

6. Setting up the redecoration and landscaping of the main office - which reminds me, why would a paint supplier quote 10 WEEKS delivery when you can nip into town and get the colour matched in an hour? Bizarre.

7. working out ways to celebrate our 30th year - needs to be something fun, inclusive and hopefully charity based. We collected some great ideas but have to narrow them down - hopefully before 2011.

8. Interview and employ a new 'front of house'

9. Design a new seasonal newsletter

10. Complete the little showhouse cottage and plan the big 'proper' showhouse.

Phew - see how easy it is to make a list? I have more, but thought 10 was a good round number. Strangely I love nothing more than getting a note book and a decent pen and making a list. And as all 'listmakers' will testify - a good list has sublist for each category. And I like to make little sketches next to my sublists so all in all an hour or so can be passed under the premise of list making. Cup of Earl Grey is compulsory. Which reminds me to add to the list.....

11. Design and commission Border Oak mugs and tea towel.

I didn't have much to show you so here are some old photos I have collected over a year or so for inspiration, and a beautiful sketch of the showhouse we are hoping to build when we get a spare 5 mins.

more of the 'wow' house

2010-06-28T06:06:00.001-07:00

Here are the pics I promised last week - a bit late, sorry, but I had some 'guide mother' duties to fulfill - my beautiful godson Arlo had a naming day yesterday and a fab day was had by us all in the Herefordshire sunshine. I think the boys were a bit upset about the football but the makeshift water slide entertained the kiddiewinks for hours - thankfully oblivious to the inevitable fate of our overpaid and underworked footballers.

Anyway - here are some interiors to entertain you - I wish I could email you all a water slide and a glass of Pimms but these are the nest best thing?

old skool

2010-06-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I see something that makes me yearn for the 'good old days'.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for progression and innovation and would probably consider myself to be, if not an eco warrior, then a pretty dedicated sustainabilty soldier - but sometimes I get the worrying feeling that we are all trying to 'fix' something that wasn't even shop soiled let alone broken.

Ever changing Building Regs, Health and Safety, Planning controls, Codes for Sustainable housing....blah blah blah - there are just so many rules and things you MUST do or are FORBIDDEN to try. And the rules all seem to advocate less and less choice rather than celebrate the artistic spirit that has made the Self Build industry in this country so exciting. I even read the other day that most of the regulations for the future will depend on our houses being so airtight that opening a window, having a wood burner or even (heaven forbid) breaking wind would send your house into some sort of atmospheric/air conditioned melt down. What is going on? Surely our climate here is perfectly suited to throwing open the french doors on a sunday or lighting the stove in the middle of winter - if not for temperature control then maybe for evoking an atmosphere and creating an lovely living environment? Oh dear, I'm ranting aren't I?

Any way the purpose of this was to show you this gorgeous house, which is built the very same way and to much the same design as an Elizabethen house - but with a lot more insulation. Each time I see a full oak framed cottage like this I get a warm fuzzy glow (I think I need to build one?)

The owners may have an air heat source pump (see at the front) and double glazed, Argon filled windows, underfloor heating and all the other high tech gadgetry available nowadays, but I just think the house looks pleasing and subtle. It isn't pretending to be old, or (heaven forbid, again) trying to look foreign (ie German) - it is just good old fashioned British craftsmanship, a dollop of vernacular design, topped off with fab natural materials that will get better with age.

Here endeth the sermon.........(for now!)

How amazing does their plot look? I think the joinery is being painted grey/green so it will look wonderful against the woodland. And I love that rickety fence in the foreground.

As it weathers down it will sit perfectly in the plot - the roof will gather some lichen and the oak will silver. The stone and brick chimney looks good too.

The brick annex is a good alternative to weatherboard, especially with the painted joinery. Perfect.

a room with a view

2010-06-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ooooh! I have got some new photos in this week - I get inordinately excited by new Border Oak pics especially if I haven't seen the house itself. And this house is a cracker - with the most amazing setting ( I think you can see about 6 different counties on a clear day!) Designed by an architect, built by Border Oak for two of the loveliest clients - I hope you like it. More photos to follow shortly, I am just resizing them all.

And to make an exciting week even more exciting, my baby sister had her own baby last night - Griffin John Edward. Welcome to the family little man - we love you already!

one day.............

2010-06-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

When I was at school my favorite subject, by far, was art. I even started an Art Foundation course after my A levels and toyed with the idea of studying Fine Art at Ruskin. But my father had visions of me scraping a meagre living drawing portraits of indifferent tourists in Firenze. And, in truth, I was never going to be good enough to charge the tourists money, so I switched to History of Art (much easier, less hours) and now scrape a meagre living working for my father! Any way the point of my ramblings is to introduce this gorgeous little studio that Border Oak built for an artist in Buckinghamshire.

One day, in my dreams, I will beg Mr A to build me a studio like this - and I will potter and paint and sew and stick and glue with Minnie Moo. And I will have a little shop downstairs and a holiday cottage out back. Perfect.

I love the grey door and cobbles , stainless steel barrel lights and grey painted stairs. And I LOVE the light in the upstairs studio.

some new houses.......

2010-05-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

Every now and then the project managers (the men in charge of the building sites and who organise the build schedules etc) will send me some pics of houses 'under construction'. I love this as I don't often get to visit the far away houses - and it helps me decide if I need to take professional photos later on. I thought I would share some of the photos I received in May.

The first illustrates the garden buildings we have provided for a show garden at Majestic Trees, nr St Albans. As one of the foremost mature tree nurseries in the UK, Majestic will be showcasing their design and landscaping skills at this wonderful new garden they are creating at the HQ - including, of course, lots of big trees - and an equally humungous lake by the looks of things. It will be open to the public so you can all pop along and see the gorgeous Border Oak garden buildings and buy a tree. Don't rush there yet though, still a bit of work to do..........

Ben found this photo on the internet - it's an extension we built last year. Would make a brilliant studio/playroom wouldn't it?

This next one makes me giggle - can you see the dinky bungalow to the right hand side? Well, I am guessing that as the new house is virtually complete the rickety old bungalow's days are numbered! I wonder if houses have feelings? This must be the equivalent of your husband leaving you for a younger, fitter, prettier woman. Awful. But at least the new house will be warm.......

Really looking forward to seeing the landscaping and interiors of this house as I already love the way it looks - a bit of glass, smidge of brick, lots or oak, painted windows, not too ostentatious, lovely plot.........uh oh, 'House Envy' alert.

And the house below is definitely on my House Envy radar - it is not too far away from here but I am too afraid to go and see it as I know that it is going to be nicer than our house. How do I know? Well in the weatherboarded barn section you can see here, there is a beautiful vaulted cruck frame, open to the rafters.........imagine the parties you could have in such a great huge room. And I LOVE the dark grey windows. It reminds me of the undercoat you often see when shop fronts are being repainted -and I have always been a tad peeved to see the top colour conceal the grey. The Border Oak showhouse will have dark grey windows like this too.

And finally this is the other side of the Bungalow Buster. Looks good from all sides I think.

Will post again in June - JUNE!! Where is the year vanishing to? Lord above, I will be 40 in the blink of an eye at this rate (well, 7 years to be precise). Can someone please slow things down?

More of the cottage

2010-05-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some more photos of the Border Oak cottage we are building - just for fun!

When it is finished we will definitely have an open weekend so everyone can come and see the dinky little thing (actually it doesn't feel that small now the rooms are screeded and more proportional).

My next task is lighting - now here is the (my ) problem.........

My own natural leaning is towards semi industrial/reclaimed/nautical looking lights or perhaps fine hand crafted porcelain - both of which, of course, are expensive. Now, the cottage will probably be sold at some point and it's not my money I am spending so who is to say that the eventual owner will even like or appreciate my choice in top end British made lights? Therefore do I do the sensible thing and go for inoffensive, run of the mill stuff (ie not -at - all- expensive) and just get over myself? Hmm.......dilemma.

a des res for a dove or two?

2010-05-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

You may remember my cousin, who made the marvelous Border Oak model whilst recovering from breaking his leg? Well he has started making some amazing 'mini' frames and other bits and bobs, using his fantastic oak framing skills and left over oak - including this beautiful bird's house. He has made a brilliant version based on the Pearmain Cottage porch, which has proved to be very popular (I will get a photo and post here) and also some useful oak plant tag things (you know, oak thingys you stick in the ground to identify the plant).

The Birds Houses start at around £380 and the plant things (I will remember their name at some point) are about £9 for 5 I think. Let me know if anyone is interested, all are made to order and are beautifully crafted, even with oak shingles on the roof and pegged joints like a real Border Oak house - nothing at all like your typical garden centre job.

the key

2010-05-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

The key on the topper is the actual key to my parents house - I know, it's ridiculous really. About 9 inches long and as heavy as Minerva, it's not exactly something you can pop in your pocket - but the good point is that its hard to lose.

Mum and Dad's house was the very first Border Oak home, built more than 3 decades ago - which makes Border Oak the oldest oak frame company in the world. Dad prefers to say 'knowledge and experience' rather than old. They still live there but now, thankfully have a much smaller front door key.

This year we are all celebrating Border Oak's 30th anniversary and I will hopefully bring you various 'vintage' snippets over the next few months as I rummage through our old photos and press cuttings - I think I even have a pic of Princess Anne at a Border Oak show somewhere.

Chedham's Yard - a new visitor centre

2010-05-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

Did anyone watch the 'Restoration' series on the BBC last year? It was a fabulous series where various 'at risk' buildings across the UK competed to secure an incredible £1 million prize fund to pay for their repair and restoration. Dedicated and resourceful volunteers were filmed putting forward the unique architectural and social history to a panel of experts and then the public voted for the overall winner in a Grand Final.

The fantastic 2006 winning project was Chedham's Yard - an untouched blacksmithy and wheelwrights shop run by generations of the same family from a collection of barns, in Warwickshire. With the tools and materials still lying seemingly where they were placed the day the last of the Chedham's retired, it had an evocative atmosphere of a by gone age of craft manufacture that must have resonated with the viewing public - beating more grand and obvious buildings that were in peril.

Any way, the point of my ramblings is to let you know that Border Oak have been lucky enough to be awarded the contract to build the new visitor and education centre for Chedham's Yard, which has delighted everyone at the office and is a really exciting project to be involved in. We will be building a weather boarded barn so that the original workshops can be repaired and retained and the indescribable ambience can hopefully be preserved.

I can't wait to take my little ones to see it and promise to keep you updated of the progress.

forgot to add this

2010-04-29T06:17:00.001-07:00

Because I was distracted by the beeping fridge I forgot to post a picture of the little cottage - doh!

Here it is........not a great pic but if it is sunny tomorrow I will get a better one.

Off for cup of tea number 6 now.

a cute little cottage

2010-04-25T01:57:00.000-07:00

Border Oak are currently building a very sweet little cottage, on a teeny plot we have owned for a while, in a lovely Herefordshire village called Eardisley.

Now, it has been a bit tricky to build because the site is very small (bearing in mind you need scaffolding, skips, security fencing, storage etc) but thankfully we have been blessed with understanding neighbours and a super organised Border Oak project manager (they are all super organised and skilled of course!) And this little cottage is really growing on me - not just because it looks so pretty, but also because it is a clever house and different to what we usually do nowadays.

It is increasingly uncommon to build a simple full oak framed house at the moment- ie without SIPs, softwood framing, weatherboard or brick - just a green oak frame, pegged and infilled - and I had forgotten how lovely and pure the craft of oak framing could be. Proportionally it is perfect, but the detailing is also timeless which I love.

I have been specifying the interior finishes and generally annoying the project manager, buyer and boys on site with my ideas and requests - but I think it is called client perogative or some such nonsense.

Here are some pics I had used for the 'mood board' to help me put together the look I wanted for the kitchen and bathroom. Not sure if it will look at all like these - in fact I know it won't, but I really find it helps me to distill the visuals and aim for a cohesive look. These photos are from PlainEnglishKitchens, Lightlocations and 1st Option locations

When it is finished in around 8 weeks ( I have made that up but thought it sounded plausible.......) we will hold a few open days and get some pics. Can't wait to pretend it is mine!!

Although the bathroom will be small in the cottage I have ordered the 1930's suite from Baileys, seen below. I chickened out , last minute, from having a roll top bath, so will now have a standard bath with a tongue and groove panel. I am also thinking of having T&G on the plain landing wall, but am concerned it may look a bit fussy with the oak beams - maybe I should go for wall paper instead, to give visual interest without adding another texture?

This wall paper is lovely don't you think? And the arm chair fabric is gorgeous (does anyone know what make it is by the way?), the shabby chic chest of drawers is devine - but the wall mounted TV is .......well, it's not for me.

I would have loved wall cupboards and shelves like this but instead I have to have a boring old extractor hood - does anyone ever use an extractor? Building Regs are such a pain sometimes.

And this final Plain English Kitchen is nothing like the cottage kitchen at all, so is really surplus to requirements here , but it just seems to have such a nice atmosphere (and we do have slightly similar french doors, does that justify using the photo?)

Country Homes and Interiors magazine

2010-04-08T05:38:00.000-07:00

This months CH & I magazine (a good read if you like country style houses) has a feature on one of our houses - a lovely country cottage, built a few years ago for a great family. I think you can tell the owner has an eye for detail. Here are some of the photos that didn't get used.

Constructed using SIPs, lime render, a brick plinth and clay tiles it has blended perfectly into the hamlet and is a deceptively spacious house (with many clever design features such as a walk through office behind the stairs and hallway, a playroom/4th bedroom adjacent to the utility and wc (for easy possible conversion to a ground floor bed/bath suite), an en-suite bathroom hidden in the roof of the adjacent garage etc). It is unusually designed to face to the front lawn (with a minimal area at the rear) with lots of door and windows to access the garden easily which illustrates how intelligent design can be used to minimise the negative aspects of a plot (in this case an unsightly building) and still suit your family perfectly.

MAY ISSUE - Country Homes and Interiors - OUT NOW

I love the atmosphere of the house - it would be hard to tell that it was only a few years old.

the show part 2

2010-03-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

I have two poorly little people at home so this post has been delayed - many apologies. And if any one knows why my babies are always ill and how I can make them more robust do let me know. I blame the fact that Min didn't go to nursery when she was little, so is only just getting all the school bugs that the others have already had........hey ho.

Anyway I promised some of the stranger/funnier show stories. And I thought it would be interesting to give you a run down of the 'popular' themes

Show Story No. 1

Now, most of the people we meet at these shows are lovely, and simply want to know a bit more about the work we do or could do. Some are just starting and others may already have planning but they tend to be very nice people.

But every year, without fail, we get at least one from the 'what wood do you use' category (there is a clue in our name.......). And Mr 'What Wood Do You Use' (it is always a man, sorry for the generalisation) normally comes with his friend Mr 'I Could Have Done it Better Myself' for a day trip - they have no intention of self building - EVER.

This year we had a few - 'Is It Real Wood' visitors (they always knock or kick the frame for some reason) but no Mr 'WWDYU' - and I was beginning to think that without the inevitable visit from an awkward pair of amateur wood workers we would be jinxed for the year.......until Sir 'You've Built this Wrong' and family made their way to poor Trudy.

He duly pointed out that bits of the show stand weren't structurally necessary, that we had over sized the beams, that there were too many rafters, that we could omit at least 8 braces.

Trudy was very polite and smiled at all the right places and waited for the tirade to finish - I don't even know if she had chance to explain that the stand was just designed to look pretty and that taking out the oak frame sort of defeated the exercise, before they moved on to the next victim. What a funny way to spend a day out.

Show Story No 2.

I think we did about 6 radio and TV interviews on the stand - ranging from discussions about the NEC venue (random?) to a very personal in depth account of my fathers architectural background and Border Oak's bank balance. Of course we haven't seen or heard any of the interviews since. But I think the strangest was the man who told me he had been waiting for me for hours (I didn't know anything about it) and who told me I had a very serious face and that I didn't smile much and that it was quite depressing (for him?? what about me?!) I appreciated the advice, all pretty useful and he seemed like a nice man who's heart was in the right place - but it was a bloody radio interview.......

Show Story No 3

After a long day at the NEC we normally head back to the hotel and have a lemonade - and we usually meet the same group from PolyPipe who also stay at the same hotel each year. And they love to banter and crack a few jokes and tease us terribly about pretty much anything - but this year the funniest thing happened - and it may just be my cruel sense of humour that found it hysterical- when the boss of PP came to rejoin our group and sat down only to discover that there was no chair. You had to be there.

2010 NEC Show

2010-03-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well, sigh, after all the hard work the annual Homebuilding show is over for another year.

And what a year it was - probably one of the busiest shows we have had, with so many lovely people and lots of fabulous projects. It is almost impossible to say how many houses you may have 'sold' during a show like this, for us it's not really about selling anything at all - but it is great to show people what we can do and to hear their thoughts and dreams. And it is always heartening to see that oak framing holds an enduring appeal for people well into the 21st Century.

We had lots and lots of great compliments about the stand and our displays - some from our 'competitors' - some from past and present clients (it was especially wonderful to see you) and others from people just embarking on the idea of self build. I personally really love chatting to so many different people with all sorts of budgets and backgrounds. Thank you so much for stopping by and we will now work hard to get back to all of you who left your details.

The star attraction was, by far and away, our incredible oak framed scaled model, made by Nathan (my cousin and one of our fabulous oak frame erectors who unfortunately broke his leg a few months ago). Based on one of our bespoke barn designs it really does have to be seen to be believed.

Perfectly scaled and detailed it drew smiles from children and grown ups alike and provided a very realistic insight into a mini building project. Nathan toiled for months and months, making virtually everything himself, from the underfloor heating pipes to teeny tiny oak pegs. The attention to detail and craftsmanship was much admired (especially by our friends at Oakwrights - hello Tim, who assures me he follows this blog closely!) and hopefully illustrates how unique craftsmanship and skill is at the very heart of Border Oak - machines can't do stuff like that!

After a safe return journey the model is now on display in the office - a photo is below.

Here are a few of the stand pictures taking before the crowds arrived. I have some more to upload and will add them tomorrow with some of the best/weirdest/funniest stories of the show itself.

The NEC action - as it happens......

2010-03-15T08:13:00.001-07:00

Ed (the project manager) has emailed these pics to the office to show us the progress of the stand at the NEC - Steve the erector must have worked his socks off because it is pretty much finished! Just the oak rafters to add by the looks of things.

It already looks great so please come along and see for yourself - the transformation over the next day or so will be incredible once we have added all our lovely pics and bits and bobs, I think everything on the list has been delivered and packed now.

I think I could do with some giant Border Oak logos to go on the gable ends of the frames though........but with less than 24 hours notice I may be struggling!

Homebuilding & Renovating Show - NEC Birmingham - 18th - 21st March 2010

Pearmain Cottage

2010-03-11T06:01:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that we weren't sure if the Pearmain Cottage concept would be popular.

It all started in 2001 when Ben and I were struggling get get planning approval for a Border Oak cottage on our plot in rural Herefordshire - the planners didn't want us to used exposed oak externally as we were next to a listed oak frame and they thought it would be 'visually confusing'. So my Dad pulled out one of the sketches that he had filed away under 'concept'.

It was worth a try..........and yep the planners loved it, Grand Designs filmed it, magazines featured it (I don't know if I will ever live down the Elizabethan costume shoot, oh lord, the neck ruffle.......) and by some miracle people liked it and bought them.

Here is one of the recent additions to the Pearmain family - what a beautiful , happy ending to a planning conundrum.....

mind your manors

2010-03-11T05:31:00.001-08:00

I often while away a spare moment or two by day dreaming of my perfect house - and yet every day I imagine a different type of house. I would normally consider myself a decisive person so why can't I settle on the dream home? How annoying. There are just too many to chose from. I surrender.

I lurch from a sleek contemporary barn with a catalogue of needless gadgets, to the sweetest country cottage complete with foxgloves and rambling roses ( a new oak framed one of course, or, at the very least, one with extension potential).

In my more extreme day dreams I am ensconced in a palatial mansion - the type with a designated room for every imaginable pastime. I am talking sitting room, snug, family room AND drawing room. Pantry, larder, wine cellar, laundry, boot room AND utility room. Office, library, study AND home cinema. Nothing less than 8 bedrooms with attached spas for each.

And then I get woken up by Gabriel driving into my leg with his retro style ride on.

But there are some lucky souls who do get the dream - and Border Oak do build some rather lovely manor houses.

unusual red render - the middle gable will be glazed throughout

It is hard to even describe the size of this house we are building - ginormous as Minerva would say

fancy chimneys

A more reasonable sized home? 8 bedrooms I think..........

Tonight's the night

2010-03-03T06:01:00.001-08:00

If you watch BBC2 tonight (Wednesday 4th March) 5.15pm (I think) you will see a Border Oak house on a programme called 'Escape to the Country' - well we have been told it is on tonight but these things to have a tendency to change.

This is the house they have a look around, it's very cute and the owners worked so very hard literally building pretty much the whole house themselves. Amazing.

I'm looking forward to having a channel other than Ceebeebies on for a change.

I'm back!!

2010-02-28T06:04:00.000-08:00

Many apologies for the lack of blogging recently - I have had a nasty bought of bronchitis - which thankfully seems to be subsiding.........touch wood (oak, as if you need to ask..)

If you are still out there reading this then I thank you wholeheartedly for your dedication!

So anyway, I now have a backlog of blogs (easier to write than to say).

First up - do you remember I was working on a new 'Pearmain Cottage' Brochure? Well, it's finished and off to press - HOORAY!

I know , I know, it has taken me an age to complete - but hopefully it will be worth all the drama and last minute changes and scratching of heads. I am not sure if the builders/practical minded amongst us will like it - it could be a seen as a bit 'arty farty' or indulgent for them (it's not really!) but I wanted to get across the atmosphere of the house which is hard to do with ink and paper. Here are a few of the spreads to give you an idea of what I have been up to.

I don't know when it will arrive in our hands - but hopefully before the NEC Homebuilding and Renovating show (18th - 22nd march) otherwise I will be in big trouble........

oak + me = love

2010-02-12T04:01:00.000-08:00

Well it's tricky to think of a valentines theme for oak framed buildings so as I was giving myself a headache trying to come up with a clever 'lovey dovey' angle, my mind naturally drifted to my one true love - Mr Albright. And Mr A works for Border Oak (project managing the outbuildings, garages, commercial buildings etc) so to honor my sweetheart I am going to blog about his work instead..............tragic, I know.

But seriously the Border Oak Garages and Outbuildings department really do make the loveliest oak framed outbuildings you will ever see, including this darling building.

and I would love one of these too

2010-02-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

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!