The project brief was to provide a two-storey four bedroom family home with an open plan kitchen, family room, dining and garden room area. The design would need to provide a detached three-bay garage and log storage.

The final design was a four-bedroom house. We considered the design strategy to complement the neighbouring property, The Lodge. Although the dwelling is all new build, the design created the image of a property that had developed over a number of years. For example, the utility room to the east side is in brickwork without carstone, the eastern rear wing containing the playroom and master bedroom has a lower eaves and ridge height, and the rear elevation of the dining area is in brickwork, possibly indicating that it was an area infilled between the two adjacent wings.

Our design solution makes the building fit into its location and surroundings well, and assists in making the building feel part of its setting, giving the impression that it has been at this location for many years already. Our key design touches included traditional timber verge, eaves, and exposed rafters, helping to embed the new dwelling into its setting.

The main key element of our design was the siting of the dwelling and the garage. The garage was located so as to overlap the main front two-storey elevation of the new dwelling when viewed from the front. The side utility extension, which is to be of brickwork without carstone, will therefore not be visible from the front. The location of the garage to the front of the plot helps to reduce the noise from vehicles in relation to The Lodge. All necessary consideration has been given to the location of the driveway in relation to the trees on the site.