Wayside
Set within a mature garden and embraced by trees, this replacement home draws inspiration from the Arts & Crafts tradition.
Its natural stone walls and slate roof echo the vernacular character of the local area, while the building’s cruciform plan -formed by a gable-ended two-storey core with entrance and staircase wings, gives it a timeless simplicity.
A green oak balcony and a projecting entry canopy not only provide solar shading but also break up the long façade, lending the house a more intimate scale.
Responding to the contours of the site, the design is carefully embedded into the landscape. From the front, the house presents as two storeys, yet at the rear, where the ground rises, it reads as a single-storey dwelling.
Inside, the layout is inverted: bedrooms occupy the ground floor at the front, with service spaces tucked to the rear. Above, the first floor opens into a dramatic vaulted living space, where a green oak frame defines the kitchen, dining, and sitting areas, all gathered around a central fireplace. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood these spaces with daylight and create the sensation of living among the treetops.
At the heart of the brief was the creation of a library to house the clients’ extensive book collection.
This “wow” space is revealed immediately upon entry: a three-storey atrium, top-lit by a lantern set between two soaring stone chimneys. Books line every wall, accompanying you as you ascend the staircase and making the library the true soul of the home.
Awarded Build It’s Best Oak Frame Home 2025, the house also integrates a suite of sustainable technologies.
An air source heat pump provides heating and hot water, a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system ensures fresh air throughout, and a solar PV array with a 13.5kWh battery stores renewable energy—together creating a home that is both environmentally responsible and architecturally distinguished.
Photo credit: Richard Downer Photography