La Croute

In a rural part of St John, a stand-alone, architecturally unbalanced
20th century granite house has been lovingly refurbished and
extended, to create a beautiful family home, styled as a traditional
Jersey cod house fit for 21st century living.

The five-bay house stands proud with flanking chimneys and granite
wings; its new symmetry creates an air of gravity and permanence.
But this is by no means an austere house; overlooking a pool, the
flow and connection from the bright interior spaces to the carefully
planned exterior provide comfortable and relaxed living, and
ultimately, a welcoming family home.

Internally, the hallway is a dramatic, vaulted, triple height space,
filled with natural light by day, and a lit by cascading pendant lights
at night. All the rooms are washed in natural light and benefit from
the rural vistas they connect to externally.

As far as possible, the existing fabric was retained and thermally
upgraded, which now forms most of the main, central portion of the
house and much of the kitchen and dining area. Here, the old
granite fireplace was lovingly conserved and repointed, recognised
as the heritage of tomorrow. In contrast, other, more formal rooms are
punctuated with grand, open fireplaces.

There are many thoughtful, folly-like details in this characterful home.
The long and short, rough-cut granite quoining above the south
orangerie are reminiscent of pre-norman architecture, as if to suggest
this might be an ancient section of building; whilst the reveals of the
larger windows to the South of the main body of the house, are very
shallow, as of a pre-18th century architectural language. One of the
main features in this home is the staircase, designed to almost float in
the air, as a contemporary reimagining of an elegant, cantilevered
stair one might find in any grand Georgian house.