Blashwood House

Following a personal recommendation from our Church Lane clients, the owners of Blashwood asked us to imaginatively reinvent the land of their countryside bungalow. The property had previously received a planning rejection to increase its size, owing to its highly monitored location.

Looking for a fresh approach, we designed a completely bespoke piece of architecture to match their needs and the project’s location perfectly.

As well as being a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), the location falls within the New Forest District Council Open Countryside Area, meaning that extra care needed to be taken when developing the design in such an environmentally sensitive area.

Whilst the previous application had been rejected owing to a standard limit in these areas of no more than 30% increase in size, we designed the new building intelligently to meet the council’s criteria. Our approved plan not only matched, but exceeded the former request, and we have managed to almost double the property’s size, from 106m2 to 204m2. Alongside the sizeable increase in space, the brand-new home boasts a highly unique and sustainable design.

Through the use of materials such as oak, brick, timber, and red clay tiles along with copper gutters and downpipes, the property will bring forward a traditional design to today’s aesthetics in a sympathetic manner, and coordinate the building with the New Forest’s verdant surroundings.

The grounds are an incredibly important feature of Blashwood. We consciously retained the bungalow form in the design, as it maintains the open feel of the plot whilst enabling a well-considered interior space for the applicants. The grounds are further optimised through the relocation of the parking area on the tree-lined plot to increase its sense of rurality, and the burying of currently above-ground electricity lines, to increase aesthetic appeal

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