Transforming a tired rural cottage into a home full of character
Puncknowle, West Dorset
This a special project for us at Theo Green Designs, as it was our home too for a while! When we bough the house it was very outdated and lacked identity. As with so many rural homes we see, the original cottages character had been lost.
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Having started life in the 1850’s as a pair of cottages it had been added to and adapted numerous times resulting in badly proportioned, awkward spaces and a layout that didn't flow or connect the building to its site.
​The house needed complete renovation including reorganising and opening up of internal spaces (and the addition of additional floor space), new services and a complete transformation externally to 'lift; the building, establish a new character and create a functional contemporary home.
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With far reaching views over the Bride Valley and a south facing garden it was clear it had the potential to be a fantastic flexible family home.
With a tight budget, this self-build was a labour of love and we worked hard to realise our ambitions. The building was stripped back to the existing structure leaving little more than the stone walls, roof structure and first floor joists remaining. From there the house was reimagined to make a home that connects at ground floor to the south facing garden and at first floor to the views to the north with the addition of a series of practical areas vital for family life.
The house and annex/home office over the garage are connected via a generous porch and entrance hall, boot room and utility/downstairs wc with the pivotal linking space being the new infill extension providing kitchen, dining and seating areas opening via bifold doors to the garden.
The room over the garage and the first floor of the house are clad in Larch to tie them together and settle them into their rural surroundings with Purbeck stone used to face the walls at the front of the house as a homage to the original stone cottages.
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