weatherboarded oak cottage

Do you remember this lovely house I mentioned a few weeks ago? Well, I just realised that I haven't ever uploaded the gorgeous interior shots!  So here they are - with a few externals to give you a better feel for the gorgeous house and setting.

Have a great weekend

what a view...........G &T on the upper terrace darling?

A Herefordshire Farmhouse

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to spend the day styling some pics of a house Border Oak built for some good pals of mine. It was a lovely day - not least because little Hugo was a charmer, (and ever so handsome) but also because the house was so easy to photograph and the owners were so helpful and chilled.

It is a house with just the right balance of character and detail, without being pastiche or contrived. Being a mixture of handmade brick, oak and render it also sits well in the plot and will weather beautifully. We tried to capture the blend of materials and the play of light across the facade of the house but it is hard to do in a photo - but it was very atmospheric.

If there was a way to describe the internal atmosphere of each house I would try to put it into words on the blog because it is these unique atmospheres that give each Border Oak house their own personality. The best I can come up with for this beautiful farmhouse is 'happy, relaxed and home' - which are feelings I would hope to emulate if I was to build another house for my family.........

Set into a slight dip, the house is completely hidden away. It is in a pretty and small village in Herefordshire where Border Oak have been lucky enough to build 5 houses over the past few years.

I love the weather boarded 'lean to' on the side with the stable door

3 of our 4 project managers were bricklayers in previous lives and so exceptional brick work is one of Border Oak's specialities!

The kitchen is a really great space - wide and long and with lots of exposed oak and windows. At one end there are some sofas and Hugo's play area.

The hallway is open to the sitting room so you get a sense of space as soon as you enter

The house is a mixture of oak framing and SIPs - the sitting room is the SIPs part, so the oak frame is simplified here. A great idea for displaying photos over the lintel

The utility room uses the same units as the kitchen so the flow between the two rooms is seamless

I really liked the floor coverings too

The master bedroom is above the sitting room and with windows either side it was bright and spacious
with just enough oak to give architectural features

Hugo was the best model ever

The family bathroom

The en suite shower room

and finally......the cutest photo of the day

A weather boarded cottage in the Welsh hills

It has been another crazy week - but all good fun.

I spent a wonderful day with a lovely client taking photos of her Border Oak home - built just over the Welsh border.

Now, styling photo shoots can be surprisingly stressful and tiring, although I have no idea why when the most you have to do is plump some cushions and arrange some flowers (well, there is a bit more too it, but its not exactly taxing). And sometimes the day is so rushed that you can't really stop to enjoy it all.

This particular day was not looking promising with the kind of weather that makes you want to emigrate and some flowers that died overnight. However our photographer has pulled proverbial magic trick out of the hat (I can't remember the exact metaphor) and the results are stunning.

And it has to be said that the main reason I had a good time, was the owner - who was lovely, accommodating, interesting/interested, a willing victim (no one likes having their photo taken after all) and also made us a yummy lunch (we usually scoff biscuits and crisps all day - this time we had quiche, salad, cake (hmmmmm!) and endless tea). But to top it off we were working with a great interior, a compliant dog (happy to be bribed with biscuits), three photogenic little people and an atmospheric back drop - complete with sheep and a stormy sky.  Photo shoots don't get better than that!

Here are a few sneak pics, more to follow next week........

Based on a "Halfpenny Cottage" but weatherboarded. The solar panels heat water and the 'barn' type extension provides a lot of extra space.