Our design response sidestepped the site’s constraints by radically reconfiguring the cottage’s internal structure. This intervention facilitated everything that followed.

With the freedom to adjust the internal layout, we reorganised both floors around simple unifying corridors.

Ceiling-height doorways and sliding pocket doors on the ground floor give the impression of a free-flowing, open-plan living space without denying the option to close spaces off.  The downstairs toilet, utility room, and built-in storage of lacquered oak are treated as secondary spaces, easily accessible but neatly tucked away out of sight.

Strategically placed new windows bring daylight right into the heart of the home and frame views out to the surrounding countryside, anchoring the building in its setting. The walls are are finished in a dark colour palette that provides a blank canvas for the play of light and shadow.

An engineered feature staircase links to the first floor. The stair treads are multifaceted blades of white powder-coated steel cantilevered from the double-height stairwell wall. They rise up from an asymmetrical timber podium that serves as seating, containing storage underneath. Daylight from above and elsewhere in the home casts an intriguing pattern of shadows, animating the hallway.