Two contrasting elements make up this distinctive, Grade II listed family home. From the front, a stately, quintessential English cottage; to the back, a contemporary addition inspired by the clients’ Sri Lankan heritage. We were tasked with introducing bright and materially rich tropical design elements while preserving the home’s original features.
We took inspiration from a traditional Sri Lankan house typology – known in Tamil as muttram veedu – a house centred around a courtyard, that brings the outdoors in. An elegant glazed link now connects the old and new parts of the property, providing a vibrant and colourful focal point at its heart. Ours was a holistic approach, working with a landscape gardener to introduce greenery and reflective water features, which provide a sense of calm and peace. Exotic plants such as canna ‘firebird’ lilies sit alongside the cottage garden’s wildflowers; a new oriel-style window offers serene views over the surrounding woodland.
Our approach extended to the materials we used, combining sapele, a dark tropical hardwood, and oak, more typical of cottage vernacular. The contemporary rear extension is explicitly tropical in appearance, with bifolding sapele shutters to provide a sense of seclusion. In the main living space, exposed oak joists express the structure of the building, while a high-level clerestory window brings in light and creates the impression that the roof is floating.
The kitchen island is made of sapele, with metallic embellishments reminiscent of Sri Lankan architecture. The floor is finished in cool polished concrete, and the use of mottled paintwork adds a textural element inspired by a traditional mud plaster aesthetic.
Inside the historic cottage, we undertook some light refurbishment work, introducing a library, a utility room and a new hallway. In the summer, the courtyard becomes an additional room, opening up the home and easing ventilation.
Client...they were genuinely good people to work with; approachable, considerate, and invested in the project in a very human way. That combination of cultural sensitivity, design intelligence, adaptability, and trust was fundamental to the success of the build, and made the entire process a genuinely positive experience for our family.