REAL PROJECT OAK FRAME SELF-BUILD
T his beautiful oak and Cotswold stone home sits on a long, skinny spit of land, meaning the owners can drink in waterside views from every window. “One of our favourite things to do is sit in the sitting room as the sun sets, with the water casting dappled reflections onto the walls,” says James Edmondson, who lives here with his wife Sophie and their daughter Aubrey.
Their house’s location is particularly special, as it is set within a private nature reserve run by James and his father, and the idea to build a home here had been bubbling away for a long time. “Even when I was at university, I was dreaming of what could stand on this spot,” says James. He bided his time before eventually taking his designs to Border Oak, who added their knowledge and expertise to James’ vision.
“It was clear James and Sophie’s priorities were sustainability as well as complementing and maximising the location. But they also wanted to create a beautiful family home that was adaptable and reflected how they wanted to live,” says Merry Albright, creative director at Border Oak. “As this was a project on which they intended to do a lot of work on themselves, we helped with the working drawings and construction notes so they had a set of plans to base everything from.”
James agrees, saying: “Border Oak also had some great ideas about materials and as a result, the finished house feels richly textured, combining the rich grain of oak with the solidity of stone.” The company also suggested adding oak archways on the ground floor, which help to define areas of the open-plan spaces.
“The views from all aspects of the site are amazing, so we were keen to capture these through the design and also blur the lines between the inside of the home and the landscape, as the two elements work together,” adds Merry. “So, we have included a veranda and covered ‘fly-over’ frames, which provide valuable shelter from the weather while extending the living space into the natural setting.” This design detail also helps to reduce overheating in the summer, while allowing low winter sun to warm the house naturally.
“Even when I was at university, I was dreaming of what could stand on this spot”
The house has cosier rooms, too, including a snug with books lining the walls beneath an A-frame roof. Here, the walls are painted a dark colour tha
