Carefully hand-drawn, this farmstead design is testament to a respect for the region’s heritage and natural beauty, fusing contemporary design with traditional rural architecture, contributing to the on-going narrative of Cheshire’s architectural evolution. Every plan, elevation and detail deepened our connection to the design. A hand drawn visual as opposed to outsourced CGI’s, complete the seamless journey of this design from one individual, to paper.
This project was a unique opportunity for Annabelle & Co. to create a home which captured the essence of slow-living on the farm. For my family, home grown produce and keeping livestock is a way of life and an outdoor school for my children. Our collective goal was to achieve a low-energy home, with a limited carbon footprint, made from locally reclaimed materials that complemented this lifestyle and the local vernacular.
The approach is across a long winding track through a hay meadow. It no more tells of the farm to the rear than the hint through the brick arch, on arrival. A glazed entrance lobby affords a view through the plan across the natural pool and to the original stone walling entrance off a cobbled lane.
The farmhouse’s central form of reclaimed brick and York stone roof is linked by connecting elements to a second dwelling – an existing 1800’s three storey farmhouse. The linking form is an outdoor living room with open fire and access to the swimming pond – which invites one to strip off and jump in!
The vehicle access through the arch leads to the main farm yard past mounting block steps which lead to the bootroom. From the yard the dwelling is on a raised plinth which creates west-facing terraces for sitting outside the kitchen in the sun. The spring filled swimming pool is tight to the house to send reflections up into the double height hall walls and ceiling. At first floor the master sits in the south west of the house capitalising on the far reaching views to Jodrell Bank, to the farm and across the fields.
Throughout the plan key elements of glazing frame picturesque views, while natural materials and textures create a seamless transition between the interior spaces and the pastoral landscape beyond, where chickens roam the farmyard, pigs flit around the woods and horses graze the paddocks.
