Work: New build & restoration
Location: Kent countryside
Architecture: Traditional
A beautiful grade II listed early Georgian Farmhouse set at the west end of sloping landscaped gardens containing a natural pond in a rural Kent village which the owners have meticulously restored over a number of years.
RBA was commissioned initially to provided design solutions for relocating the kitchen, creation of a boots room, terracing and potting shed at the West end of the property and later to design a cart lodge to complete the entry courtyard for vehicles and services.
The potting shed was designed on the Western Boundary and sits astride a new retaining wall set close to the boundary which retains the sloping ground to make a levelled area for the building, gardens and new landscaping. The structure is oak framed with a pitched rafter roof with catslides each side for log store and storage. The roof is tiled with reclaimed handmade clay tiles and the walls clad in green oak FE boarding, with oak framed windows and door, a traditional brick floor completes this garden building.
The cart lodge was designed to complete the enclosure of courtyard at the East end of the site. It is built entirely of oak with a reclaimed handmade clay tiled roof and has three bays accessed from the courtyard. The centre bay is designed to be open from the courtyard and is aligned to provide a vista through to the house. This bay slopes down through the building and is fitted with high doors at the Western end. The slope is cobbled and leads down to seating areas under outshot roofs on the West side of the building, perfect for views over the gardens and watching the sunset. The first floor is a single open space accessed via an external oak stair on the North end of the building, it is lit with conservation rooflights and a glazed gable set over the high barn doors over the centre bay.
