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4000 sq ft contemporary new build in Harrogate

Thursday, 13th August 2020

This really was what they call an ‘affair of the heart’! Yes, we wanted to indulge our ‘design gene’ and create something to showcase what we could do, but ultimately we wanted to build our dream family home in Harrogate.

Collaborating with a local architect, we designed a contemporary home to replace the 1960’s ‘upside down’ house with materials and colours that would not look amiss in the mainly traditional sandstone landscape.

The house is actually built on the side of a hill and at the time, we didn’t fully appreciate the complexities that this would pose! Levels and accessibility were a constant challenge on such a gradient, and the design was tweaked a number of times to reflect this and potentialise the vast internal space.

We chose to fully project manage the interior design of the new build in Harrogate ourselves, sourcing all the materials and trades, and coordinating the schedule of works.

On the ground floor, we designed a ‘broken’ plan area to facilitate family living by choosing to semi break up our open plan space with floor to ceiling glass panels, in order to encapsulate the central staircase and reduce the noise from the TV in the living room. The same ceramic tiles were used throughout the new build to create uniformity, but different textures such as slate, smoked mirror, textured mica and silk wall coverings were all used to maximum effect to define the different zones and the roles each space performed. 

This, coupled with different types of lighting, i.e. task spot lights for food preparation, a colour changing pendant and wall lights in the dining area to help create mood and atmosphere, table and floor lamps for a softer ambient lighting level in the lounging area, all contributed to zone such a large space.

As the new build was built against a hill, the ground floor was a little darker than the upper floors so we could have gone either way with the colour scheme; very light and a little impractical for family life, or more moody and atmospheric with a ‘boutique hotel’ feel. We chose the latter, wanting to create an entertaining space with a party feel that we could throw open the bifold doors in summer and enjoy the outside fire in the evenings, but feel more cocooned in the Winter months. The best of both worlds!

A central white concrete and glass staircase was designed to connect the 3 floors, with a dedicated floor to the children at the top, a master bedroom suite with feature bath and dressing area, a cinema/media room on the second, and a self contained guest suite located on the lower ground. 

Another feature we designed to connect the 3 floors was the spectacular, triangular feature windows down the gable front - for us an integral part of the design - that required a specialist window company who were able to fabricate the floor to ceiling frames and angled glass, and perhaps more importantly install at a height.

The outside garden areas were excavated and landscaped, external staircases, terraces and driveways clad - it took 12 months in planning and 9 months in construction to achieve our goal! A luxurious interior design open plan self build in Harrogate!

We want to share the knowledge, experience and expertise gained from building our own dream home as well as helping many of our clients along their journeys - we can be as flexible as you want. Get in touch with Caroline Gardner Design today and let's start on your luxury interior design new build by filling out our online enquiry form.