A private client based in Yorkshire asked us to reimagine his Cornish family home, in which he remembered spending many happy summers as a child. This large house, in a beautiful position overlooking the beach, had been built to seventies standards. It had become tired, cold and damp, and was crying out for an upgrade.
Our role as architects extended to managing the entire project, from initial concept to completion, which was particularly important as the client was living upcountry.
Our remodelling of the interior spaces included a new, bespoke, contemporary oak and glass staircase which helped create a generous, flowing, open plan. We didn’t forget that sometimes it’s useful to have privacy, hence the brightly painted children’s snug which offers welcome respite.
To address the problem of cold, leaking walls and big heating bills we wrapped the whole composition in a modern external insulation system with high-efficiency windows. Sustainable energy is now provided by air source heat pumps, which supply most of the warmth. These are supplemented by rooftop solar thermal panels and by rooflights which beam passive solar energy into the heart of the home.
The VELFAC composite aluminium and wood windows perfectly complement the exterior design, which marries together with the interior to give a consistent modern feel. This has given the house a breath of fresh air – and a new lease of life for a new generation.
