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Chiltern Hills
Jim Stephenson

Chiltern Hills - A crafted modernist home overlooking the Chilterns

photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson

Our client always wanted to build a light-filled, modern home, using natural, timeless materials that seamlessly link indoor and outdoor spaces.

 

The house sits high, overlooking gardens and rolling countryside. The approach is via a causeway of granite slabs across a shallow pool, flanked by a 'floating' dining pavilion. A dry stone wall wraps around the building at the entrance courtyard.

photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson

This home needed to be beautifully built, with a craftsman's eye and skill. On entering, the building reveals the surrounding countryside through walls of glass and here the house separates, leading on one side to more formal areas, including studies and a guest suite and on the other to more relaxed family living spaces.

photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson

The formal limestone facade of the southern elevation references both the traditional English country house as well as classic modernist villas. The building blends in the parkland landscape. Many of the walls were designed to be covered, in time, by climbing plants. Similarly, the roofs are planted with heather and lavender.

photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson
photo_credit Jim Stephenson
Jim Stephenson

 

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