Picture
Caption: IVY COTTAGE | Carl Trenfield Architects |
Caption: Crafted That feels like the best word to describe this Grade II-listed cottage located on Ivy Lane in the centre of the historic city of Canterbury in Kent, which is being marketed by The Modern House.
Picture
Picture
Caption: Ivy Cottage was refurbished by the architect Carl Trenfield, who was both the architect and the client in this project - the courtyard garden at the rear of this 16th century house was designed by Carl’s wife Eleanor, a landscape architect.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Caption: The external fabric of the building was restored, but from the street you would never imagine how much this two bedroom cottage has been transformed internally.
Picture
Picture
Caption: On the ground level, the existing kitchen was removed, as was the internal dividing wall between the front and rear rooms, forming today’s open plan living, dining and kitchen space.
Solid oak parquet flooring unifies this area, while the original period details remain including chunky exposed beams and rustic timber doors, along with the brick fireplace that now houses a woodburning stove.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Caption: Trenfield worked with a master craftsman who made and installed all the bespoke furniture and fittings throughout, including the kitchen. I can’t get over the herringbone parquet timber detailing used on the walls here - this may be the most beautiful kitchen splashback I’ve ever seen - and the same detail clads the cooker hood.
Although rooted in a historical context, this kitchen is crisp and contemporary and gorgeously tactile, and the rich palette feels right in a building of this age - although the dark finishes are counterbalanced by the full-height glazed doors that open this space onto the garden.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Caption: I love the blend of new with old throughout this house - and the old dates back 500 years, so the contrasts are striking yet entirely complementary. Who would have thought that Alvar Aalto’s Golden Bell Suspension Lamp, designed in the 1930s, would look so right here suspended over the dining table? But it does.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Caption: The two bedrooms are on the first floor along with the bathroom. In the main bedroom you'll find a bespoke vanity unit, while the second bedroom features a custom made wardrobe and shelving.
The use of solid marble tiling in the bathroom gives this contemporary space a timeless quality. How beautiful.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Caption: Carl Trenfield Architects was recently selected by Architects’ Journal as one of the UK’s most exciting young practices. If this project is anything to go by, well, I can’t wait to see more.
Picture
Caption: All photography from
The Modern House
Picture
Caption: See the listing for Ivy Cottage:
themodernhouse.net/sales-list/canterbury
Follow The Modern House on Twitter:
twitter.com/The_ModernHouse
And on Instagram:
instagram.com/themodernhouse/
Picture
Caption: Carl Trenfield Architects: carltrenfieldarchitects.com
Follow on Twitter:
twitter.com/CTA_STUDIO
Caption: twitter.com/copperlineco
instagram.com/copperlineco