Bottor Cottage

Project Details

Brief: Refurbishment & extension

Location: Dartmoor National Park

We used VESP architects as we had been impressed by a project they had completed on Dartmoor. We worked alongside both Eilir and Ian and both were very approachable, experienced and informal....which we liked. They listened to our brief and appreciated that we had a budget. Our project was complicated as we wanted to retain the Georgian frontage of the building and demolish the rear, adding a contemporary barn like structure. They were always available and professional throughout.. It's reassuring to know they are just down the road should we need advice or clarification during the build process. We would certainly recommend them. SC

Bottor Cottage is the refurbishment and extension of a Georgian property located in a 4 acre woodland in south Dartmoor. The cottage had previously been unsympathetically extended and had fallen into complete disrepair. Our clients bought the property at auction and approached VESP architects with a brief to bring the cottage back to life.

Our first decision was to remove the poorly conceived extensions to the rear and allow the well proportioned house ‘to breathe’. Our second decision was to mimic the proportions of the house with a new contemporary extension, set to the rear of the property and connected with a lightweight glazed link. The formal rooms of the cottage were restored and the roof timbers exposed, whilst the new extension provides modern, open plan and highly glazed accommodation.

The extension is clad in Siberian larch from Brunel , has a powder coated steel roof by TATA steel , and utilises high performance glazing by Fenster. The client’s excellent sense of style has added character and variety to each of the internal spaces, and the use of mandarin stone porcelain tiles throughout was a great success.

The gardens and surrounding landscaping that so brilliantly blend this Georgian home into their woodland surroundings were designed by Alice Blount

This ambitious, 5 bedroom project received the full support of the Dartmoor National Park planning authority and was completed in 2017.

Ground Floor Plan