Country Modern
Interior Architecture | Surrey Hills
Defining the Brief
For a young family longing to exchange the pace of London for space and serenity, Wonersh Park offered the perfect escape. They were instantly captivated by a house set within two hectares of mature parkland, part of a former 17th-century deer estate. Once a vast hunting ground, the land was subdivided in the 1930s, and this property emerged as one of the Tudor Revival residences, gracefully positioned with access to an enchanting lake where deer still wander along the water’s edge.
Time had left the house largely untouched. While sympathetic Arts and Crafts additions and an annexe had been introduced over the years, much of the original structure remained intact. Inside, however, the atmosphere felt heavy: small leaded windows, low ceilings, and dark materials created a sense of enclosure. The ground floor was a warren of compact, compartmentalised rooms, and the bathrooms had seen little change since their inception. Perhaps most striking was how disconnected the interior felt from its extraordinary natural surroundings — the house offered only fleeting glimpses of the garden and lake, rather than embracing them.
The clients’ vision was clear: to open up the floor plan and create a home bathed in natural light, perfectly attuned to the rhythm of modern family life. As this was to be their forever home, the transformation was intentionally bold. We were entrusted with the freedom to reshape the entire interior architecture, reconfiguring each space to maximise light, flow, and proportion. From the outside, the house presents a quintessentially traditional country façade. Yet stepping through the front door reveals a surprising modernity — a series of bright, airy spaces, gently layered with pastel hues, soft textures, and a welcoming sense of ease. The result is a home that honours its heritage while quietly embracing contemporary living.
Shaping The Flow
Space Planning
At the heart of the transformation was a sweeping reconfiguration of the ground floor, with a particular focus on the kitchen and family living spaces. This involved seamlessly linking the annexe to the main house and removing a section of the rear façade to accommodate a light-filled extension featuring skylights and ultra-slim sliding glass doors.
Working closely with the local architects, we explored a range of spatial models before arriving at a design centred on a generous open-plan kitchen, dining, and lounge area — a space bathed in natural light and perfectly suited to contemporary family life. From here, two symmetrical adjoining rooms unfold: a family cinema snug on one side and a library on the other. Each is accessed through elegant double Crittall doors, positioned opposite one another to enhance the sense of balance and grandeur.
The Crittall glazing was designed with a Bauhaus-inspired configuration of squares and rectangles, lending a subtle rhythm to the interior architecture. Symmetry was a guiding principle throughout the plan, creating a feeling of calm, serenity, and quiet formality. Practicality was equally important: generous utility spaces were discreetly integrated to keep the open-plan kitchen effortlessly tidy, ensuring that all the ‘messy’ tasks remain hidden from view.
Kitchen Design
The clients had a clear vision for their kitchen and knew exactly which brand they wanted to work with. We collaborated closely with Arclinea to develop a floor plan that celebrates the generous proportions of the new space. Together, we carefully positioned each appliance, designed a large central cooking island, and carved out the perfect area for a walk-in butler’s pantry.
This hidden, hard-working zone now accommodates all the preparation appliances, an additional sink, extensive dry food storage, and ample crockery—allowing the main kitchen to remain a serene, elegant show space.
The material palette is deliberately bold and modern, creating a striking visual impact within the architecture. We limited the number of finishes but played with strong contrasts in colour and texture: black rough-sawn oak, leathered black lava stone, polished stainless steel, and sand-coloured flagstone-effect flooring. The result is a kitchen that feels both refined and dramatic, balancing functionality with sculptural presence.
Interior Design
Lifting the mood
A combination of structural and decorative changes helped brighten the entire house. The entrance hall originally felt dark and oppressive: a low, beamed ceiling, heavy barn doors, and thick curtains over the few windows blocked much of the natural light. Our first step was to level the ceiling, an essential move to create a sense of spaciousness and unhindered flow, while erasing visual traces of past extensions and piecemeal alterations. As part of the ground floor reconfiguration, which knocked the internal walls and joined the annexe to the main house, we raised the ceiling height in the new kitchen, instantly transforming the sense of volume and light at the heart of the home.
We replaced every internal door — except the original front door and the study — with elegant glass Crittall doors. These not only flood the interiors with light but also provide framed views between rooms, allowing spaces to feel connected while retaining the ability to close them off when needed.
The staircase underwent a complete transformation. Previously dominated by a solid, heavy banister, it now features slender metal spindles that echo the Crittall detailing, creating an open, airy feel. Beneath the stairs, a former storage cupboard was removed and replaced with a bespoke glazed wine room, extending the modern glass theme in a functional yet striking way. To complete the transformation, we introduced a colourful stair runner that weaves together the key hues of the decorative scheme, bringing warmth and personality to the hallway.
Lighting played a key role in modernising the interior. We specified modern classic fixtures sourced from leading Italian brands, that deliver bright, functional illumination when needed, but can be dimmed for a softer, more atmospheric glow. Throughout the house, all the flooring was replaced with light, engineered oak, finished with a subtly whitened oil to create a bright, contemporary backdrop for the new interior.
Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Suite comforts
The first floor features five generous ensuite bedrooms, along with two additional bath and shower rooms serving guests and the gym. The clients envisioned modern, colourful, and textured bathrooms, each with its own distinct palettethat complements its adjoining bedroom, while experimenting with new materials and finishes. The challenge lay in achieving a sense of harmony and continuity, despite using a different tile scheme for each room. Drawing on our extensive network of suppliers, we crafted seven unique bathroom designs, combining real and imitation marble, onyx, natural stone, zellige tiles, and printed porcelain. Each space carefully balances colour, texture, and scale, resulting in a rich yet cohesive collection of rooms. The bedrooms were designed to echo and complement their respective bathrooms, using paint, wallpaper, bespoke joinery, fabrics, accessories, and modern lighting to create individual identitieswithin a unified scheme. Soft shades of greens, blues, and pinks, layered with neutral tones, bring a sense of calm, character, and quiet luxury to these private spaces.
INTERIOR STYLING
Room with a View
The main living room was conceived as a comfortable, modern and light-filled space—elegant enough for entertaining, yet relaxed and unpretentious. Above all, the family wanted to celebrate the spectacular garden views, making them the true focal point of the room. Two key architectural interventions transformed the space. First, we replaced the original double French doors with ultra-slim modern sliding doors, opening up uninterrupted sightlines to the garden and flooding the room with light. Second, we tackled the fireplace, which had been a mismatched, heavy-beamed alcove clad in grey stone—neither original nor attractive. Although we initially explored improvements, it became clear that its removal was essential to unlock the room’s potential. A full structural strip-out allowed us to install a Chesneys Calacatta Vagli marble fireplace, flanked by a pair of elegant bespoke bookcases painted in a violet hue matching the marble veins, introducing balance and refined symmetry.
The room’s furnishing is deliberately restrained, reflecting the house’s abundance of distinct living spaces. Here, contemporary pieces anchor the design—a large B&B Italia corner sofa, low armchairs, and carefully curated artworks define a relaxed, generous environment for lounging and entertaining. To highlight this evolving art wall, we designed a flexible ORLUNA track lighting system with adjustable art spots, allowing the display to grow and adapt over time. With larger openings, light-reflective marble, and the elegant symmetry of the new fireplace, the living room now exudes a calm, luminous atmosphere, perfectly attuned to both family life and sophisticated gatherings.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Modern Hideaways
We developed architectural and interior concepts for the two rooms leading off the kitchen. My vision for the library was to create a space that feels both intimate and expansive, a place where function and family life flow together effortlessly. The moment you arrive in the entrance hall your eye is drawn to the vast window framing the library drawing you eye beyond to the garden. This new opening floods the entrance with natural light and offers a glimpse of the sanctuary space. Originally, this room had three access points—from the entrance, kitchen, and terrace—but we chose to simplify it. By closing two of the routes and introducing a pair of large double doors in perfect symmetry with those leading to the family snug, we transformed the library into a calm, quiet retreat that still feels bright and open. We retained the original fireplace and garden window but reimagined everything else. Our studio designed all the built-in cabinetry in black oak to mirror the seamless aesthetic of the kitchen, combining open and closed units to elegantly balance display and storage. As a parent of three daughters, I know how family life can spill into every corner—papers, toys, games—and this thoughtful design provides space to tuck things away while still celebrating books and beautiful objects. The large table near the kitchen makes this room incredibly versatile: close enough to the heart of the home for easy access, yet separate enough to offer a peaceful spot for homework, quiet reading, or simply leaving a puzzle or project mid-flow. Where there was once a terrace door, we’ve created the perfect corner for the family’s piano—a nod to their love of music and a reminder that this room, like any well-loved library, has many roles to play.
My vision for the movie snug was to create a moody, cocooning den — a place where the children could retreat during large kitchen gatherings, or where the family could curl up together on quiet evenings. To achieve this, I adopted a colour-drenching approach, enveloping the entire space — walls, woodwork, cornices, and ceiling — in a rich, deep petrol blue. This immersive treatment blurs architectural lines, enhancing the room’s intimate atmosphere. A large contemporary corner sofa, upholstered in a textured fabric precisely matched to the wall colour, seamlessly blends into the architecture, allowing vibrant cushions in shades of orange and red to punctuate the scheme with warmth and energy. Unlike the rest of the house, which called for maximising natural light, here we dressed the large window with heavily embroidered curtains, thinly lined to create a soft, dappled glow that enhances the room’s enveloping character. For lighting, we deliberately kept things minimal. Picture lights and modern pendant are the only source, gently illuminating artworks chosen to complement and deepen the palette, reinforcing the snug’s intimate, cinematic feel.
Lighting Design
Anything but the downlight
Lighting transforms any interior and this house gave us the opportunity to really show off all the different ways we can employ lighting while minimising the use downlights. In the hallway and staircase, which was the worst part of the house to begin with, we rewired entirely and installed six different circuits. We have a pair of deliberately not matching table lamps on 5amp circuit. There are tiny uplighting floor spots integrated in the new herringbone parquet together with LED strips which illuminate the new wine display. We joined up two different types of wall lights on one circuit – picture lights for the artworks and two modern bold scones in the curved staircase walls. Overhead we have a big statement modern chandelier by Flos which lights up the upper and lower floors. Lastly we recessed tiny square LED floor washers just above the skirting on each third tread and they give a soft glow to the runner. All other rooms were fitted with predominantly pendants and wall lights, all chosen from modern Italian brands to juxtaposition the classic architecture of the facade.
