A handsome house and a funny story

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

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

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

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

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

m

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?)

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!

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.