Deliberately designed to compliment the natural surroundings of the plot, this new build house seamlessly blends traditional building techniques with a stylish two-storey, oak-framed rear wing. Very much a family home, the property takes full advantage of the glorious views to the garden and woodland beyond and bringing a real sense of space, indoors, with its open plan interior and natural materials.

Despite the very wet clay sub-soil of the local area the owners were keen to maximise their storage space by creating a large cellar under a large proportion of the property and has resulted in a spacious, practical layout, which has been well-used from day one. It also provides an ideal location for the Ground Source Heat Pump system, which provides all the heating and hot water requirements for the whole house.

The client was very keen to retain the integrity of an oak framed, traditional build in the local Surrey vernacular, yet equally conscious of current building standards and future-proofing objectives. Careful consideration ensured the integration of the oak frame, with the traditionally built parts of the house with timber framed walls, effectively insulated whilst still keeping internal oak framing details on show. Local stone was sourced for masonry walls with natural lime mortar joints and lime rendered panels between oak posts to ensure a natural fluidity and sense of timelessness throughout the whole building.

"Bob approached the project with a considered thoughtfulness and intelligence right from the off, and his ability to see things spatially allowed him to question the original design without imposing his ideas. This led to some very creative and inspirational changes to the internal layout which were a marked improvement on the original architect's design."

Liz H.
Owner, Oak Framed House