We all know what it feels like to live in a home that’s not quite right. You feel as if you’re squeezing your life – and your family’s – into a space that wasn’t built for you.
Each household task feels more complicated than it needs to be. The layout frustrates you at every step. With poor ventilation and lack of natural light, the spaces do nothing to improve your mood. And there’s friction in the very act of living. But a new home can change all that.
Admittedly, new homes don’t have a great reputation. We see far too many off-the-peg developments that don’t exactly inspire us with a vision for a better way of living. They all look the same, they’re built with no regard for the place or the wider landscape, and they’re certainly not built around you.
It doesn’t have to be like that, and we’d love the opportunity to prove it to you.
Get it right, and your new home could be transformative.
Get it right, and your new home could be transformative. It could give you the sanctuary you’ve been craving, become a place to gather strength, a place to come together, and the most cherished investment you ever make. It could be the constant in all your lives, always there to welcome you – but adapting as your relationships change, as your family grows, and as you move through life.
For us, a new home is a chance to make a difference, not on the wider stage but in a far more personal way.
For us, a new home is a chance to make a difference, not on the wider stage but in a far more personal way. There’s the joy of our unfolding conversation with you, the excitement of the creative possibilities, the freedom of a clean slate, and the anticipation of the most worthwhile of transformations.
But there’s rigour and precision behind our confidence and positivity, and the questions come thick and fast. Do you kick your shoes off the moment you come in the door? Do you need somewhere to put the shopping down? Do you go out for long walks and find yourself – and the dog – bringing mud into the house? Do you love nothing more than a cool drink sat in the glow of the late-afternoon sun?
All these little details allow us to plot your routes through a typical day and begin to imagine a home that fits you perfectly. And while we’re thinking about your journey through your home, we’re also thinking about the right mix of spaces – spaces that allow retreat, spaces that foster togetherness, spaces that work not just for the way you are now but the way you’ll be in the future.
We’re also interior obsessives who want to make sure everything has its rightful place. Storage – for the things you love as well as the things you need – should be so much more than just an afterthought. And if you’ve always yearned for a grand piano but never had the space (or the acoustics) for it, now’s the time to change that.
Along with functionality, we’re thinking about beauty. Let’s not forget that thoughtfully chosen materials and well-honed craftsmanship are at the heart of a home that feels good to be in, and good to the touch. It’s easy to underestimate the countless times in a day that we grasp a door handle, hold a handrail, or just lean against a wall. Let’s make every one of those touchpoints a moment to enjoy.
Residential Architects West Sussex
It's about looking good too, and we don’t mean that in a superficial way. ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful,’ said William Morris – and we think this applies to your house itself as much as what you fill it with.
In our eyes, every new home is a chance to enhance the landscape that surrounds us. As architects working at the heart of the beautiful South Downs, it’s something we take very seriously. We see the planning process – whether here or further afield – not as an obstacle in our path, but as a call to create something truly worthy of the earth it stands on.
And every site has its own promise, waiting to be made true. In our Herefordshire Farmhouse, that promise is about the relationship with the heritage orchards that surround it and views across the lakes and farm. At The Farmhouse, it led us to the arrangement of courtyard gardens which wrap around the house, rooting it in the landscape. And, at The Meads in Eastbourne, the house is centred on an internal courtyard, for privacy, retreat and sanctuary.
But your house will, of course, be different. Perhaps a far-off horizon draws the eye or a rolling landscape is waiting to be let in. Whatever it is that makes your place special, we’ll be alert to the possibilities.
So far we’ve focused on the very bespoke nature of what we do. But, whoever and wherever you are, there’s one thing that doesn’t change – and that’s the need to build a home that will keep you cool in summer, warm in winter, and use as little energy as possible in the process.
It’s much more than just a question of filling the walls and roof with insulation. It means thinking about the way the house faces, about the materials that go into making it, and about harnessing the very best – and very latest – technology.
We don’t pretend to know it all, and we know we never will. But we have a network of experts to call on, all of whom share our ambitions and our values.
Just like the homes of the past which we still love today, the best new homes are of their time yet built to last, untouched by fleeting trends or short-term thinking. Let’s cast our minds forward one-hundred years from now and see a home with a history. Let’s see a home which has been much lived in and much loved, by you and by future generations.