Martin Edwards architects

House in Hertfordshire, 2020-23

A former 19^th century farm cottage in rural Hertfordshire, the house had been extended several times in the past; to more than twice its original size, and with much of the original internal fabric lost or obscured by later alterations. The arrangement of rooms had evolved in a piecemeal way over time, and the layout was compromised as a family home.

Existing ground floor plan

Existing first floor plan

We worked within the volume of the existing house, using carefully directed alterations to reconfigure the interior and improve the connectivity and interrelationships between the different parts of the house.

Remodelled ground floor plan

Remodelled first floor plan

The accumulative way the house had evolved had also produced a relatively deep plan-form at ground level; and we sought to bring more direct sunlight into the ground floor rooms at different times of the day. Although open-plan, the living accommodation has been arranged as smaller loosely defined overlapping rooms. Places for receiving guests; to dine; for hobbies, or to retreat; to listen to music, or watch a film.

Remnants of earlier timber matchboarded internal partitions, in the upper floor of the original cottage, are a reference for new painted timber panelling that is used to form the new internal walls and concealed storage, in contrast to painted plaster for existing walls.

Existing and new wall finishes

A new open entrance porch, the only external addition to the house, leads to a new lobby and boot room with cupboards behind painted panelling. From the lobby, a glazed internal door frames a view towards the garden.

In the sitting room a new settle is positioned within a recess in the southern corner of the plan that was previously enclosed as a small utility room. The centre of the sitting room receives daylight from this opened-up corner, with direct sunlight from mid-morning until later in the afternoon during Summer months.

The staircase has been repositioned within a new double height stairwell, lit by an upper floor window in the master bedroom. A painted timber screen with open balusters, extending through ground and first floor, brings indirect light from the stairwell to the sitting room. The adjacent dining area is lit directly by a south-east facing window.

The two rooms that formed the ground floor footprint of the original 19th century cottage, had previously been combined into a single room. This has become the kitchen, with bespoke cabinetry designed as part of the project; all hand-painted to match other painted timber wall linings.
The new kitchen is partly built-in and part free-standing joinery, avoiding an overly fitted feel. An existing stove has been retained within an original brick hearth. A second previously infilled fireplace has been enlarged for a new range cooker; and lined with handmade Delft tiles that are framed in a view from the new dining area towards the kitchen.

The first floor has been reconfigured to provide a master bedroom, guest bedroom, study and bathrooms. The upper landing has a small library, that provides a place to sit with a view over the garden, and leads to a small study. A glass-fronted bookcase door can be closed to acoustically separate the ground and first floors. A new laundry room is positioned below a hidden stair that leads to a pair of existing attic bedrooms.
In addition to the painted timber panelling used for new internal walls, and other painted joinery, oak flooring is used throughout the living spaces and kitchen; and the new staircase is built in oak. Encaustic tiles are used in the new porch, boot room and WC. A new slate hearth connects the two existing fireplaces of the original cottage.