HOLLAND GREEN ARCHITECTS - DESIGNED BY LOUISE HOLT DESIGN
The Brief
Restoring and breathing new life into a beautiful but very neglected Grade II* listed five bedroom family home at the heart of a historic market town in Oxfordshire was the challenge for HollandGreen, an architecture, interior design and landscape design studio, while Louise Holt Design was brought in to create elegant interiors. The owners’ mandate was to transform the property while remaining faithful to the character of the original building.
Lashlake House was a complete refurbishment from top to bottom, including reroofing, rewiring and replumbing, and involved close collaboration with local conservation teams and Historic England. Neglected but beautiful original features such as the 300 year old windows, historic joinery and plasterwork were carefully restored, while at the same time a modern aesthetic was evoked.
‘At HollandGreen we try very sensitively to bring older buildings into the 21st century so they have lots of light and some open plan living if possible and if that’s what the client wants. We create contemporary, luxury spaces in keeping with and respecting the venerable charm, history and the character of each property,’ says Ben Holland, Partner at HollandGreen.
The Project
The sympathetic renovation saw the introduction of two new bathrooms and the addition of a sensitive extension to create a large open plan kitchen diner with much more light. ‘The back of the house, the very old part of the house, was very dark,’ says the homeowner, ‘but we wanted the extension to be very much in keeping with the rest of the property. We didn’t want to change the structure of the house at all other than the kitchen. We were thrilled with the way HollandGreen introduced light. The house is just bathed in light, especially in the kitchen dining room.’
Artisans of Devizes’ Vellenoy Limestone with its soft cloudy hues was chosen for the flooring. Its tumbled finish evokes a country aesthetic. Teamed with Shaker-style cabinetry in muted chalky tones, it helps bounce light around the airy space. The utility rooms, which were the original scullery rooms, adjoin the kitchen diner and have original stone floors so the homeowners were keen to install flagstones that were in keeping for a cohesive look.
‘We always consider the context and the history of the building when recommending the materials to our clients so as to create stunning and contemporary spaces that uncover and celebrate the original character and charm of the building,’ says Charmaine White, senior interior designer at HollandGreen.
At Lashlake House, Artisans of Devizes’ input was crucial to the scheme. ‘One of the things we have to do is make sure that we are using the correct stones in the areas that they’re intended and Artisans of Devizes are fantastic at being able to impart their knowledge to our design schemes. On several of our recent projects, collaboration between the two companies has been fantastic,’ says Charmaine.
When it came to the bathrooms, classic elegance was the order of the day. Both spaces have exquisite roll top baths as their centrepieces. Tongue and groove painted in a smoky grey provides a traditional backdrop in one bathroom. The shower splashback in this space features Artisans of Devizes’ Aliseo Marble Mosaic Herringbone, a classic white marble with subtle grey veining that injects understated drama.
In the other bathroom, the backdrop to the rolltop bath is an elegant Georgian window that bathes the room in light. An Aliseo Marble partition separates the bath from the shower, while an Aliseo Marble tiled splashback provides continuity. An antique washstand with a bespoke Aliseo Marble top and splashback maintains the cohesive finish.
‘One of the great things about working with Artisans of Devizes is that they will go above and beyond in terms of sampling and they have an extensive knowledge of the stones and the materials that they supply. They have the same values as us in terms of the quality that we want to provide,’ says Charmaine.
The design has certainly restored the property to its former glory, with light-filled rooms that have been sensitively updated for modern living.
Architects : HollandGreen
Interior Design : Louise Holt Design
Photography: Lucy Walters & Emily Kelly