A Family Affair, Petersham
Due for completion in 2026, this new-build country house offers an opportunity to design a home from the ground up, one that captures both the spirit of place and the lives of those who will inhabit it.
Our clients – a couple whose children have now left home – wanted a house for the two of them to live out the rest of their days. Yet it was never to be a quiet retreat for two alone: with a growing number of grandchildren and a family that remains close-knit, the house had to be as welcoming as it was personal, with space to gather, to celebrate, to belong. More than anything, it is a house designed as a legacy – a place to hold the family’s stories for generations to come.
Drawing on the couple’s Danish and English heritage, the design blends traditional and contemporary languages: a building that is at once quintessentially English in its setting yet convincingly Danish in its clarity, warmth, and restraint. Courtyards punctuate the plan, creating gardens within the house as well as around it, folding landscape and architecture into a seamless whole.
Working closely with landscape designer Juliet Hutt, the project orchestrates views, light, and planting into a series of spaces that change with the seasons. A fabric-first, low-energy approach underpins every decision – from materials to orientation to environmental performance – ensuring the house is as responsible as it is beautiful.
A home rooted in family, heritage, and landscape, designed for today and for generations to come.
- Architecture
- Matthew Giles Architects
- Interior Design
- Matthew Giles Architects
- Landscape Design
- Juliet Hutt Landscape Architecture
- Structures
- Michael Barclay Partnership
- Main Contractor
- Muscox Construction
- Visuals
- Matthew Giles Architects