A glazed walkway designed by Angus Shepherd and his team leads from the side gate to the new boot room entrance, via a short flight of steps and a metal grate for cleaning off muddy boots.
Christopher Horwood
‘The house is quite unusual in that it doesn’t have a back as such, because it adjoins another property,’ explains Angus Shepherd, director at Powell Tuck. Instead, there is a garden to the right, with doors from the sitting room, and a garage and courtyard on the left, with a side gate. Now, a glazed extension provides an enclosed walkway right from the gate to a country-style boot room, which is perfect after walks on the Heath with their dog Bunny.
The extension then segues into an existing side porch, which has been transformed into a beautiful space in its own right. A roof light illuminates the steps down to the basement, which have been opened up to create a striking architectural feature, and one of the downstairs loos has become a smart new pantry. It is enclosed by elegant oak-framed glazing that extends to form the outer wall of the kitchen. ‘They didn’t want that Crittall door look, so we referenced a more historic design with the wood,’ says Angus. This is Sophie’s favourite part of the kitchen, especially when the light bounces off the glass. More light filters through a nearby window, which looks straight onto the next-door house, but has been cleverly disguised by a glass-fronted cabinet built directly into the wall.
The kitchen cabinets were designed by Angus and painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Oval Room Blue’ at the suggestion of his wife, Sarah, who is a colour specialist. Pendant lights from DeVol are suspended over the island, which is topped with a ‘Calacatta’ honed surface from Porcelain Tiles. The beautiful oak-framed glazing was designed by Angus and his team, who were inspired by examples in historic country houses. Beyond, a new roof light illuminates the porch and new pantry.
Christopher Horwood