Well Cottage

Size isn’t everything when you employ good design!

The owner of this compact character cottage sought to rationalise and modernise the interior spaces, with the aim of finding a harmonious way to create more space and combine the existing period features with new, contemporary additions.

This property had been under-maintained and subjected to a significant amount of unsympathetic additions in the years prior to our client purchasing it. We were tasked with the brief of re-organising the existing layout to make better sense of the current space, in addition to replacing the current conservatory with a contemporary extension that realised a light-filled home. The cottage also had a wealth of features, some of which were hidden by later additions, which our client was keen to expose and celebrate; in particular a well to the rear of the ground floor.

Internally, we added a new partition wall on entry which increased the size of the lobby and allowed for a bench seat and additional storage. Removing a stone pier in the middle of the cottage improved the flow of the ground floor and offered space for a new feature staircase, which would allow increased light to enter the space from the double height void. We introduced a small ground floor WC, and what was once the kitchen became a spare bedroom.

A section of the first floor has been given over to a double height to enhance the feeling of light and space on both floors, and to provide a connection with the well from the first floor landing. This floor contains the kitchen, garden room, shower room and master bedroom.

Externally, a timber clad single storey extension to the rear replaced the tired conservatory and housed the newly-moved kitchen. The addition of a new glazed door and fixed window above to the south of the existing building flooded natural light into the rear of the property. At the back a fixed slot window set back from steel bifold doors within the smaller volume, provided a view straight through the extension out to the garden beyond. The black steel bifold doors mimic ‘crittal’ doors and tie in with the overall aesthetic. Once open they provide a seamless connection between inside and out. A corner window adjoining the bifold doors and continuing to wrap around the western facade opens up the corner of the space and made it feel larger and more spacious. Using a limited palette of materials realised an image of simplicity through considered technical detailing and consistency of design.