Netherhall

New Build

This new build 6 bedroom, 2 storey plus basement house combines modern and vernacular detailing to dramatic effect. It received a RIBA award for excellence. The ground floor is ideally suited to family living, with one front-to-back space that is loosely divided by a brick structure and an open fire. There is a kitchen and breakfast room at the front, a sitting area in the middle, and a more formal reception and dining room at the rear. Huge amounts of natural light are brought into the space via big sash windows, a courtyard garden in the middle of the space, and glazed pocket doors that open onto the attractive rear garden.

The first floor contains four bedrooms, one with an en-suite bathroom, and a family bathroom. The spectacular master bedroom suite occupies the whole of the second floor, with a dramatic pitched ceiling and a gas fire. It has windows on three sides, and access to a small terrace. There is a further bedroom and en-suite bathroom on the lower ground floor, which also contains a playroom, cinema room, utility room, wine store and cloakroom. The property has underfloor heating throughout, and a Control 4 smart home automation system. Although everything is entirely new, the textures and materials provide resonances of historic architecture. On the ground floor, for example, a re-sawn oak floor is combined with white brick, Douglas fir window surrounds, and stepped boarding on the ceiling. Externally, it combines frameless modern windows with traditional sashes, and is clad with handmade hanging tiles.

The RIBA Awards judges commented as follows; "The house is a highly idiosyncratic, thoughtful essay on domestic architecture realised through the exceptional craftsmanship of a master builder. This house is a refreshing reading of London vernacular and is testament to a highly creative relationship between architect and contractor."