Inspirations

An Updated Cornish Longhouse by Tuckey Design Studio

Located in the shadow of Saint Michael’s Mount on the coast in southern Cornwall, an agrarian longhouse was re-envisioned by Tuckey Design Studio who defined an entirely new living space while remaining sympathetic to the 400-year-old original structure. The house once served both domestic and agricultural functions with the residence in the upper half, situated at the top of the hill, and the animals and stores in the lower. As a result, the building was compartmented into a sequence of smaller rooms. The studio renovated the interior into a four-bedroom family home of well-defined spaces and sustainable innovations, all while retaining the character of the building. The result is a mutual relationship between old and new. Join us for a tour.

Photography by James Brittain courtesy of Tuckey Design Studio.

the surrounding landscape defines the property. the low, sloping meadows reach  17
Above: The surrounding landscape defines the property. The low, sloping meadows reach the sea about a half a mile away.
the 3,014 square foot building is comprised of four bedrooms and two bathrooms 18
Above: The 3,014-square-foot building is comprised of four bedrooms and two bathrooms with the guest bedroom existing in the stonework addition.

The house had undergone changes over time which resulting in various style and material combinations. “This was embraced rather than to be homogenized into anything overtly pure of form,” the designers explain. The new addition, a dry-stone-wall extension that cantilevers out of the house on the upper level, was developed in this vein as seen in the exterior where the original white limed pelt building flows into oak slats and stonework.

connecting the old and new structures is an internal passageway with an exterio 19
Above: Connecting the old and new structures is an internal passageway with an exterior clad in oak-slat windows and doors.
the interior palette is made up of plaster, slate, oak, and painted panelling. 20
Above: The interior palette is made up of plaster, slate, oak, and painted panelling.
the architects were looking for the feel of a theatrical stage stair with a 90  21
Above: The architects were looking for the feel of a theatrical stage stair with a 90-degree turn at the bottom. They fitted the stair with a sculptural, curved handrail to give it the sense of levitating on nearly visible black steel legs. To create the stair, hidden steel plates were first fixed to the wall, then clad with oak treads; the banister is fixed through the treads. The banister was made locally in Cornwall by MGC Engineering.
a view into the children’s bedroom on the upper level of the main p 22
Above: A view into the children’s bedroom on the upper level of the main part of the house, complete with two twin beds. 

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