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Update your browser!Our clients approached us to explore options for reimagining their family home in Somerset’s beautiful Mendip Hills to better suit modern living, whilst respecting the landscape and site.
The key consideration for our clients is whether to extend and remodel the existing house, or replace it with a bespoke, new home.
When thinking about these two options, we considered the following:
The goal was to evolve the family home for the next generation, prioritising comfort, views, and quality of space.
We explored four potential design directions to meet the brief.
The first option proposed a series of staggered forms that create formal and informal courtyards, retaining the existing house and providing multiple living spaces that follow the sun.
The second option mirrored the original building to form a U-shaped layout around a double-height entrance hall, creating a clear sense of arrival and an enhanced set of bedroom suites.
The third option introduced a sequence of low pavilion structures linked by glazed winter gardens, celebrating the original house while opening up new spaces to the landscape.
The fourth option considered replacing the existing home entirely with a new pavilion-style dwelling positioned for privacy and far reaching views, but still maintaining a formal arrival sequence and strong indoor-outdoor living.
Once it was decided that a replacement dwelling was the best route to take from both a financial and environmental stance, we developed the design to create elegant massing with a linear, elongated composition driven by the context of the landscape.
This elongated layout creates a clear spine of movement through the house, with fluid zoning and informal cluster of living spaces. A snug, a library, a sitting area, a private first floor wing, a mezzanine level that adds a sense of internal drama.
Views extend out towards landscape and materials such as timber and stone create a refined but warm and contemporary rural aesthetic.
