ENGINEERED RUSTIC OAK FOR A GRADE II LISTED RENOVATION
May 25, 2026
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Restoration by Berkeley Hawkes featuring engineered rustic oak.
In the quiet town of Frodsham, Cheshire, a 1960s detached house has been gently transformed—not erased, not replaced, but reawakened. Carraig Mór, in its new form, feels less like a renovation and more like a rediscovery: a modernist reimagining that honours the original structure while allowing it to breathe anew.
Led by Mistry Swire Architects, the project is a careful dialogue between past and present. It is an extension and remodelling that speaks to the way a home can evolve without losing its soul. The new single-storey side extension utilises Reclaimed Brick Floor Tiles across the living space, creating a kitchen and living area that opens seamlessly onto the garden, and links with the existing house as if it had always been there.
The palette is deliberately restrained yet richly textured—a contemporary interpretation of the local vernacular, drawing on materials and traditional details that have long defined Cheshire architecture.
At the heart of the design is a striking use of Cheshire red and buff brickwork, arranged in a soft-textured Flemish bond. This is not merely an aesthetic choice; it is a reference to the region’s heritage, a nod to the familiar, redolent of time-worn streets and the quiet endurance of local craftsmanship. The bricks are patterned with precision, creating an elegant rhythm of colour and texture that feels both modern and timeless.
The brickwork rests upon a base of red precast stone, grounding the building with a sense of permanence. This stone continues into the detailing of the cills and parapet—dressed stonework that frames the composition like a carefully tailored garment.
Together, these materials create a visual harmony that is both confident and tender—an architectural sonnet composed in brick, stone, and light.
What truly defines Carraig Mór is not just what was built, but what was preserved and reclaimed.
In a world where newness is often mistaken for improvement, this project quietly champions the beauty of material history. Reclaimed elements—particularly the flooring—bring with them a depth that cannot be replicated by new timber or synthetic finishes. Each reclaimed board carries the memory of another life: footsteps, sunlight, seasons, and stories. When laid in a new home, they do not feel out of place; they feel rediscovered.
The floors at Carraig Mór are not merely surfaces—they are palimpsests, where the past is not hidden but celebrated. Their worn edges and gentle imperfections add warmth and humanity to the modern lines of the extension, anchoring the new in the old with a sense of continuity and care.
Reclaimed flooring is more than a sustainable choice—it is an act of poetry. It allows the home to inherit a history, to speak with a voice that is layered and resonant. It is the tactile equivalent of a handwritten letter in a world of screens.
Inside, the home unfolds with bespoke joinery designed to complement the new spatial flow. The kitchen, utility, boot room, office, and the defining joinery wall—complete with a dual-sided fireplace—are crafted with a quiet elegance that speaks to the home’s new purpose.
The joinery wall serves as a gentle divider between living spaces, while the fireplace acts as a shared hearth—an architectural fulcrum around which the house feels alive. It is a reminder that even the most modern homes still centre around warmth, comfort, and gathering.
The extension opens outward, dissolving the barrier between inside and outside. In doing so, it creates a new relationship with the garden—an invitation to step into the landscape as naturally as one moves from room to room.
Here, the home feels not like a building, but like a living organism: breathing, expanding, evolving. The new space embraces the garden with a softness that contrasts the strong, sculptural lines of the brickwork. It is a balance between solidity and lightness—between permanence and possibility.
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Loading...Restoration by Berkeley Hawkes featuring engineered rustic oak.
Pembroke Lodge, featured in House & Gardens, showcasing our ZAMR Tile.
A Grade II listed renovation incorporating reclaimed materials.
