Inside The Manor

Set in an extensive estate in Berkshire, featuring stables, mature gardens and woodland surrounding a private lake, this manor house has recently undergone a major overhaul and extension.

Photographs by Julian Abrams

The beautifully-shaped, old front door of the manor house

The owners were looking to maintain the traditional style and optimize the views over the lake and gardens. Working closely with designer Jessica Brook and architect Rodrigo Moreno Masey, a high-quality finish was achieved utilizing a sensitive material palette and extraordinary attention to detail.

‘The design inspiration came from the original building itself - a French style replica Chateau - which had drawn the client to the property,’ explains Jessica. ‘History, integrity, and story were important, and this needed to feed through into the interiors. A natural palette of materials was utilized, addressing and removing the less sympathetic elements of the 1980s conversion, while drawing and orientating itself around the aspect to the lake and forest,’ she adds.

The sitting room design scheme was devised to centre around the clients existing beautiful antique Persian silk rug, bringing new life to existing pieces of furniture

The subtle natural texture of the hand painted hessian wallcovering, by Matthew Bray and Matthew Collins Decorative Arts, creates a cocooning acoustic effect in the bedroom, with a delicate tree design reflecting the greens of the landscape beyond. The bespoke wrought iron bedstead is by Fennite.

The extension followed the features of the existing design, seamlessly joining the new with the old, creating formal elevations visible from long, wide vistas.

Despite the project’s scale, much of the existing fabric was retained to aid cost saving, and enhanced the project’s sustainability. Working closely with ECOSA, a protected bat habitat in the roof space was left undisturbed throughout construction and increased in size to suit their conditions. ‘An added aspect was having to accommodate the bats within the roof, which created potential programming issues, something MorenoMasey addressed through careful phasing of the roof construction works around the bats,’ explains Rodrigo Moreno Masey.

The interior design features an open plan kitchenliving extension with large sliding glass doors. ‘This maximises the site, allowing the outside to flow inside, creating an area perfect for entertaining. The adjoining

scullery and boot room are designed around the client’s needs, providing a level of practicality to sustain the countryside household,’ says Rodrigo. Upstairs was extended and reconfigured to provide more space for the client and their young family. The rooms were designed to allow for flexibility, adapting as the family grows. Each bedroom has access to a bathroom with the nest sanitary-ware and finishes, where comfort is of the upmost priority. The master suite is revealed through a door concealed in a panelled wall, leading to the private quarters. Here, the client enjoys bespoke handmade joinery in the master dressing and an exquisite master bathroom featuring a freestanding bath and a shower hidden within one of the existing turrets.

A large countryhouse feel is created in the children’s bathroom by giving a new lease of life to the clients existing free standing bath and by using reclaimed floor tiles and antique free standing furniture and light fittings

The water closets are some of Jessica’s favorite rooms in the home, she says. ‘The smallest spaces are sometimes really satisfying. Bespoke finishes on the walls to the boot room WC created a cracked gesso finish, offset with a vintage reclaimed French garden table converted to a marble washstand and stone sink - simple, but very effective!'

‘We developed a close understanding and relationship between client and designer, working together to achieve a project of the highest quality.

This, in conjunction with working with skilled specialist contractors and an extended design team, has delivered a practical, functional aesthetic new home for the client and their family,’ Rodrigo concludes.