Bespoke Kitchen & Sustainable Interior, Listed Cottage, Oxfordshire

A downstairs extension and sustainable kitchen retrofit for a 500-year-old listed cottage in Oxfordshire — spatial redesign, listed building consent, full project management, interior design, and selected elements handcrafted from 200-year-old reclaimed Oxfordshire elm, including the kitchen worktop, a bespoke dining table, shoe box and coat hook.

The cottage had extraordinary bones — oak and elm beams, 500 years of character embedded in every wall but it wasn’t working as a home. The layout divided the downstairs into small disconnected rooms, leaving more than half the space non-communal. Storage was limited, heating poor, lighting almost absent. The fire alarm sounded whenever anyone cooked. The conservatory was unusable.

The challenge was to unlock the potential of the space, creating something open, bright, modern and functional through a downstairs extension and kitchen retrofit while honouring everything that made the cottage worth saving. Listed building consent added a further layer of complexity, requiring every design decision to be carefully considered and justified.

Nested Living provided a full turnkey solution: spatial planning, listed building consent, planning approval, construction project management, interior design, decoration, bespoke kitchen and furniture design, and procurement of all fixtures and fittings.

SUSTAINABLE DETAILS

The dividing wall between kitchen and front room was removed to open the space and create a new kitchen-diner. Floors were lowered to give more headroom and the conservatory roof replaced with a reclaimed tiled roof with rooflights
A bespoke kitchen designed and made in our workshop using FSC certified birch ply for carcasses and doors, built using glueless construction throughout
200-year-old reclaimed Oxfordshire elm barn doors handcrafted into the kitchen worktop, a bespoke dining table, shoe box and coat hook — salvaged material given a second life in four distinct forms throughout the home
Low-VOC water-based paints on all kitchen and utility cabinetry, drawer fronts and doors
Edward Bulmer low-VOC paints on all new internal walls and woodwork
A vintage French sofa sourced and reupholstered locally using sustainable fabric
Brass light fittings specified for future recyclability
Highest energy-rated electric appliances throughout
New radiators installed to improve energy efficiency

“Thatch End” was a cottage in Oxfordshire that didn’t allow you to live. The layout was poor with more than half of the downstairs space not communal and divided into small rooms. It had limited storage, poor heating, almost no lighting and uneven floors. The fire alarm sounded whenever you cooked due to poor ventilation and the conservatory unusable. But it had character, being 500 years in age.

Bruce and Helen were brilliant in the design process. The process was incredibly iterative, given the challenges of the space, but fun. We adjusted aspects of the design throughout the build.

They both understood my needs and wants, and most importantly the sustainable desire. Where possible I wanted to reclaim, reuse, and recycle, using minimal chemicals. The build should use local products and local craft.

A core aspect to the design was the use of a reclaimed Oxfordshire barn door. Amazing craftmanship turn this into worksurfaces, shelving and a stunning dining room table. The roof in the new dining room used reclaimed slate, and an antique sofa given a new life with crafts people from Oxford restoring it to its former glory using traditional techniques.

Every aspect of the design was carefully considered. From lighting placement, colour, fabrics and textures. No detail left to chance, sustainability always front of mind and understanding that the space needed to be a functional family environment.

The result is simply stunning. The space is large, open, bright and airy. The kitchen is modern but in keeping with the building. It’s a real family environment and there are many new living areas.