Modern Home Russell, Baufritz (UK) Ltd. Baufritz (UK) Ltd. Modern houses
Modern Home Russell, Baufritz (UK) Ltd. Baufritz (UK) Ltd. Modern houses

It feels incredibly large, although the overall floor size is exactly the same

As the Russell family began to grow, they decided to leave the small cottage on an adjacent plot. Since the existing bungalow was however made of very cheap material and the wind whistled through the old house, it was never really warm in winter and too hot in summer. Therefore they wanted to completely renew all windows and doors seven years later. In addition, the Russells intended to convert the building from three to five bedrooms. But the planning authority was opposed to extending the plan by even one millimetre.

Together with Peter Cox, their Baufritz architect, Jonathan Russell came up with a new design; they took everything into consideration, that was not good in their old house. ’In the past we did not use much of the space on the ground floor, useless reception areas or a large living room, where nobody really liked to spend time. Everyone wanted to be in the kitchen. Here we have created a large living room around the kitchen, which radically broke down the traditional dichotomy of kitchen, living room, entrance hall and dining room. Above, the gallery took away some space near the stairs and a lot of living space had been lost through the sloping roof. So we opted for a flat roof and gained so much useful room upstairs—enough for all five bedrooms. The house now feels incredibly large, although the actual space is exactly the same. We now constantly use the entire area. ’

The Bauhaus in timber is located on former farmland, but because the Russells are hobby gardeners, their garden was completely planned for green fingers. The windows are oriented so that one can look from every angle of the house into almost every other angle. In this way the residents remain connected, even if they are not in the same room. In the morning, the house catches the sun for its residents, it is shaded during the daytime when it is hottest, and then is open again in the light and warmth of the evening sun.

Jonathan Russell: ’As a designer, I work a lot from home, often three out of five days. Since we live very close to London, I can be there in 45 minutes if I have to. One of the bedrooms is currently used as a home office, which is very convenient because everything is on one level and I can see the rest of the house and the beautiful garden from there. Computer and printer are hidden in the furniture. The lighting conditions are ideal; usually I need absolutely no electric light. Talking about my job is one thing. But when people come to my house, they learn more about design. And they see that I believe in it and live in it.’

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