Masterminded by Retrouvius and created in collaboration with Archio architects, this newbuild has been built in a neglected corner of a country house garden. It was a challenging site, because the level changes steeply by almost a whole storey across its slope, with a sunken tennis court at the lower end.

Within this structure, we have designed a home and layout that can be easily altered. The ground floor and first floor functions can be easily switched around should they need to adapt in future.

An existing small stone barn to the rear has been refurbished and turned into an annexe, intersecting with the main house via a contemporary glazed link. Cotswold stone, largely repurposed from other buildings on the site, and cedar shingles clad the exterior and help integrate the building to the wooded landscape.

Throughout, we have laid salvaged pine floorboards, which we had engineered in order to accommodate under floor heating. In the kitchen, reclaimed parquet panels front the cabinetry.

On the lower ground floor are three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a spacious home office. In the main bedroom, the joinery is wrapped in suede, creating a tactile patchwork of colour and softening the acoustics.