Category : Developments

Kensal Rise Project

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I’m pleased to say that work has now started on our latest renovation project in Kensal Rise. The house has been split up into bedsits for the last 20 years and is in a sorry state.

The smell of nicotine in one room was so strong that you could last about 2 minutes in there before needing to escape for some fresh air! The landlord was delighted to tell me that the tenant spent most of his spare time holed up in there chain smoking and reading questionable magazines.

Taking the inside back to brick is giving thankfully allowing us to remove the smell (and the memories!).

The renovation will include a full width rear extension and a loft conversion. The house is Edwardian and has great proportions, so it’s exciting so be able to see how the vision will come together.

Some pictures here of the ‘before’. I can’t wait to be able to post the ‘after’!

Country House Garden

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Has Spring finally arrived? I hope so, but as the sun is never guaranteed here in the UK I took the opportunity to get out into the garden at the weekend. I’m worried my age is catching up with me as I’m actually starting to like gardening!!
It will be some while before I can profess to have green fingers, but the structural and material choices in a garden really do interest me.We developed the garden here two years ago with the objective of a creating a space which was sympathetic to the age of the house but still looked modern.

For the main patio areas we chose a reclaimed sandstone.When it was first laid the flags all looked rather grey, but jet washing the stone was a revelation, revealing unique colour and pattern in every slab.

We also managed to find some stones for the steps which were being removed from a local racecourse.The standstone wall was new and rather golden at first, but it is now beginning to age nicely. My favourite piece has to be the brick path. I love the look of old garden cobbled paths and wanted to create something similar.

We laid the bricks in a herringbone pattern and two years in they have weathered beautifully, with moss growing into the joints. For a more modern balance, we opted for a horizontal Hit & Miss fence, with Venetian slatted panels above. They look incredibly smart and always get positive comments from visitors.