A recent project was featured in the Yorkshire Post www.yorkshirepost.co.uk  and was the opening episode of Channel 4’s third series of  Building The Dream.

 

Eastwinds is a working farmhouse set in a stunning location in the beautiful West Yorkshire countryside.  As a new build, it had to blend into its surroundings as both a working farm and a modern family home.  It was exciting to work with Rob and Claire on Eastwinds right from the planning stages, through construction, interior design and finally dressing the house for filming.

One of the biggest challenges facing Rob and Claire was that the house had to look like a traditional farmhouse from the outside (in order to get planning permission) but function as a modern working farm house and busy family home on the inside.

In interior design terms, the challenge was to make large rooms feel cosy and inviting while striking a balance between the modern interior aspects such as the kitchen and bathrooms, with the elements of a traditional and timeless style that Claire was hoping to achieve.  These combined with the added stresses and strains that the house would need to withstand from two growing boys and one fairly grubby farmer, made for a very interesting and exciting project.

I started with the most crucial rooms, the kitchen and bathrooms – there’s 5 of them in total!  Working with specialist cabinet makers from Manor Cabinet Makers www.manorcabinetmakers.co.uk  we designed the heart of the building, from which the rooms would flow.  After handling these key rooms, next came the details for the master suite, with it’s spacious bedroom, en-suite and dressing room.  Every girls dream space!

From the outset, Claire could visualise exactly how she wanted the house to flow, right down to the detail of the side entrance for Rob to use when he comes in from the farm (with his own personal shower room).  This entrance leads to the boot room, where I designed bespoke storage to ensure there would be no excuse for the boys leaving boots/shoes/coats lying around.

The end result is a wonderful family home – just what they’d both dreamed of – that boasts not only amazing internal spaces but some of the best views in West Yorkshire.