We are a Suffolk based practice specialising in domestic design and have completed commissions varying in scale and complexity in East Anglia and across the UK. We have worked on new country houses in sensitive locations, as well as the restoration and alteration of listed buildings. We take on landscape proposals and occasionally the design of furniture.
We are a relatively small practice but versatile, and particularly enjoy achieving a careful, respectful sense of place. Whether creating or enhancing high-quality architecture we believe there is strength in finding appropriate traditional, sometimes local, materials and craftsmen. This approach has earned us a reputation for being imaginative and respectful designers. The standards we achieve come from the specific care and attention every project gets, and from listening to the individual aspirations of our clients.
Paul, the leader of the team, has a long-held interest in domestic architecture. He established the practice in 2009 after four years in the Norfolk office of Charles Morris, LVO, FRICS; a renowned designer of country houses. His five years at The Institute of Architecture at The University of Nottingham resulted in a PhD thesis on the country house architect William Burn (1789-1870). It was the first ever study of Burn’s work, whose inspiration we detail here. Burn’s lively, empathetic spirit pervades our own office objectives: achieve and maintain a consistently high output, tailor designs to the specifics of site, and in particular understand how historic styles and details can work today.
We have extensive knowledge of the local and national planning system, having researched and written over 30 Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans for local authorities. We are often asked to work on buildings we locally listed, or those located within Conservation Areas we designated. An understanding of place and community lies beneath everything we do, and informs our style. In 2024 Paul was asked to judge the Conservation category for the East Suffolk Council Quality of Place Awards.
We are perhaps a little unusual in that we choose to produce much of our work on the drawing board, and while we also rely on CAD, we value what we consider to be that essential and direct relationship between the designers hand and eye.
Detail matters, and we are always happy to oversee projects all the way to completion. We particularly enjoy producing construction details and designs for joinery items (doors, windows, skirtings, bookcases, shutters, fire surrounds, kitchens, bathroom fittings, furniture, garden gates, etc).
We are proudly a Suffolk-based firm, and a significant amount of our work has been completed across East Anglia. However, in recent years our reputation for successfully delivering projects means that we are regularly approached – and are happy to accept – commissions for sites located throughout the UK.
