agricultural barns, old cottages, wood panelling
and terracotta tiles. Having a bright white house
didn’t feel like it was hunkering down in its
environment at all.”
Despite their desire to restore the flintwork,
install wood windows and clad the extensions in
larch, their initial ideas were rejected by the
planners. Athena therefore took it upon herself
to photograph as many of the neighbouring
properties as possible to build their case. Their
architect, Paul Cashin, also helped them contest
the decision. “He explained the intent to be
sympathetic to the local area, and asked which
hardwood they’d like us to use etc,” explains
Athena. “We made the case that it was
environmentally sound and a value added to the
local area.”
Eventually they managed to agree a
compromise – oak windows and a larch cladding
that would weather over time. “It was a big win
for us,” says Athena. “It was pretty critical
because it would have looked like a house with
two extensions irrespective of what you did,
unless you were able to clad it in some way.”
Their case was helped by their neighbour’s
support – they were happy as their view got “a
lot better.” Not only were they planning to
incorporate the garage into the main part of the
house and therefore remove its “big plastic
door”, they would also conceal an existing flat
roof with terracotta tiles, as well as remove the
balustrading and the PVCu door to the roof. In
addition a flat, electric rooflight would be added
plus sedum so it would “become part of the
nature reserve,” says Athena.DESIGN COLLABORATION
Having done projects previously, Athena was
keen to work closely with their architect on the
design – and picking them wasn’t a decision she
took lightly. Working with architects “can be
challenging,” she says of previous experiences.
“They can go off on tangents and spend your
money for you!” She was impressed by Paul’s
website. “I could tell he was about blending in,
a natural feel,” she says.
Upon meeting him, she says she could tell
immediately “we were on the same page. He’s
passionate about it and so am I so that’s what
bonded us.” Athena describes her process as
designing “inside out” and Paul responded to
that. “It’s a passion of mine, interiors and design
and using organic materials,” she says.
The project evolved with Athena describing
and sketching how she wanted things to feel,
how she wanted to use the space, or what
particular views she wanted and Paul coming up
with ideas and solutions to give her that. “He
really listened,” she says. However, he also
challenged her on certain areas where he felt
strongly she needed to reconsider or look at
alternatives. “He was good at reminding me
about little things, like the light, and adding a
second fuseboard outside so it wouldn’t cost as
much to run everything to it,” she says. “Making
the right decisions at that point will save you
money.”
The couple’s main requirement, other than
using organic materials, was to create spaces
that worked for socialising, while restoring
character to the cottage, as well as adding it to“Coming up against the
snags and having
massive delays, the
biggest of which was the
windows and doors.”
–Athena Hubble
LOW POINT
BLURRED BOUNDARIES
Sliding doors connect the
large, social kitchen-diner
to the gardenjuly/august 2019 http://www.sbhonline.co.uk 67