A new lease of life

What started as advice on some small works (the slotting in of an additional window) quickly became a more involved vision! As such, Henda Knobel, much respected independent local architectural designer (and Barr Group friend), was drafted in to discuss a more extensive intervention.

The nub of the problem was that the dream gardens at Capere Way, where a formal lawn leads down through a cascade of terraces to the woodland below, were visually disconnected from the main kitchen and dining space. Henda’s approach was to advise the removal of the solid walls which were compromising this glorious vista, allowing light to flood into the belly of the house. A long steel beam set into the wall above the main worksurface would support a continuous run of fenestration. Corner glazing, made up of one large floor-to-ceiling picture window and a set of stacking doors, would frame the garden beyond. With the line of vision unimpeded from all key vantage points, the kitchen dining room at Capere Way is now a heavenly space to inhabit.

Our clients also took the opportunity to renew other elements of the space, including roofing, insulation, plumbing and flooring. The conservatory roof light was raised and reinstated, and the surrounding roofing was renewed, along with the old steel guard rail… now a modern glazed balustrade.

Excitingly, our client’s original handmade solid wood bespoke kitchen was reinstated and restored (where needed) – a great example of how considered design can lead to reuse without compromise. A new cabinetry run, matched to the existing, was manufactured and fitted within the newly formed opening. Drawers were rerun, cabinetry was hand-painted in Farrow and Ball’s Purbeck, and worktops were replaced. Two of the original dresser-style cabinets were resituated at the dining end of the newly remodelled space. Loire Blanco porcelain flooring, from Burford’s Indigenous, was laid over the existing underfloor heating system and the ceiling was raised and insulated for more sustainable future energy demands.

“A carefully thought-out series of interventions made an enormous difference to linking the garden and the kitchen dining room, both physically and visually,” says Henda Knobel, project designer. “The property is quite stylised from the outside and the planners needed some convincing that the proposed glazing would sit comfortably with the architecture of the property. Great outcomes can be achieved through a light touch design, with an end result which looks like it was part of the original build, as is the case with Capere Way.”

“We take it as a great compliment when our previous clients ask us to return for further works,” says Chris Noonan, Director. “People often think Barr Build aren’t interested in smaller projects, as was the case for our clients at Capere Way. This is rarely the case. Design-led build comes in every shape and size. This project is a great example of what our Direct to Client team does; through clever structural interventions we can expand and improve the spaces our clients inhabit – and in doing so make a hugely positive impact on their enjoyment of their homes.”