Mill House by OB Architecture

Mill House is a traditional single family house situated in Guildford, Surrey, completely redesigned in 2017 by OB Architecture.

Modern living room with exposed beams, white sofa, and kitchen in the background.
Contemporary living room with exposed beams, brick fireplace, and herringbone floor
Contemporary room with exposed beams, herringbone floor, and large windows overlooking
Sleek kitchen with island, pendant lights, and expansive view of greenery
Modern open-plan kitchen and dining room with large windows overlooking a garden.
Modern kitchen with a wooden table, skylight, and a view of trees
Bright, spacious kitchen with large windows and a dining area.
Modern house with large windows surrounded by greenery and a clear sky.
Historic stone mansion with a new extension and a classic car parked out front.

About Mill House

Revitalizing Heritage: The Mill House Transformation

Nestled in Shalford village’s Conservation Area, The Mill House, a Grade II listed gem, boasts a scenic location on a lavish 6-acre (24,281 square meters) plot. Adjacently, it shares the landscape with ‘Shalford Mill’, a historic 18th Century watermill, carrying a Grade II* listing.

A Client’s Vision: Modern Meets Historical

Tasked by the client, our objective was clear: remodel and expand the ground floor. Specifically, we aimed to create a luminous kitchen dining area. Furthermore, this space needed to seamlessly connect with the splendid garden, maximizing its allure.

Design Inspired by History

Drawing inspiration, our design revives a sketch from 1836. This sketch depicted the house adorned with multiple pitched roofs, since removed. Strategically, we positioned the extension atop the original foundations of these lost structures. Consequently, we resurrected the historic courtyard.

Merging Elegance with Functionality

Crafted from oak glulam, the extension’s roof dons a bronze standing seam. This feature not only adds a weathered texture but also harmonizes with the main façade’s earthy red brick and stone. The roof’s design, highlighted by two triangular rooflights, bathes the interior with natural light.

Inside, six oak columns shape the dining and living areas, marked by vaulted roofs. Tucked at the rear, the kitchen sits beneath the original, now vaulted, roof structure. This adjustment unveiled and refurbished the existing chimney breast.

The living area, anchored by a sizable brick chimney and stone hearth, reinterprets the main house’s chimney for a modern touch. Bi-folding doors in dark bronze frame the living and dining spaces, echoing the main façade’s leaded windows. These doors, coupled with frameless glass-to-glass corners, ensure a fluid indoor-outdoor transition.

A Nod to Tradition

On the new chimney’s external elevation, we reintroduced the house motif from the main staircase and Dutch gable façade. This motif, now a large-scale CNC stone cut pattern, underscores our design’s contextual sensitivity.

In essence, this transformation of The Mill House merges modernity with history, seamlessly blending the indoors with the majestic outdoors. Through thoughtful design and respect for heritage, we’ve ensured The Mill House stands as a beacon of architectural evolution.

Photography by Martin Gardner

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- by Matt Watts

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