The Servants Cottage

Once a seventeenth century servants house, the cottage had been refurbished in the early 2000s with synthetic finishes and stripped of its texture. Our work became one of careful unpicking, removing the layers that dulled its character and allowing the modest structure beneath to reemerge.

Within thirty square metres every surface mattered. Plastic floors were lifted to reveal old pine boards, hollow plasterboard walls were replaced with lime, and the proportions of windows and thresholds were returned to their quiet irregular rhythm.

The project was an exercise in repair through subtraction, finding atmosphere not through addition but through honesty of material and restraint of gesture. What remains is a small house with a renewed stillness where history is felt rather than displayed.

A cozy living room with a small fireplace, a wooden coffee table, a green armchair, a pink upholstered chair, and framed artwork on the walls. A window lets in natural light.

A cozy living room with dark green and beige velvet armchairs, a fireplace with a fire, a wooden coffee table with a bowl, a basket of firewood, a white vase with flowers, wall art, and a blue painted wall.

A young boy with blonde hair sitting at a small wooden table, reading a magazine in a cozy, dimly lit room decorated with artwork and a sculpture.

Interior of a room with dark green walls, featuring a white-paneled door, framed artwork, vintage furniture, a bronze bust, and a Boston Terrier sitting on a wooden chair.

Architectural blueprint of a two-story brick house showing exploded axon view of roof, floors, and walls with front and back elevation drawings.

Line drawing of a small apartment with a bedroom, bathroom, living area, and kitchen.