Our multi-award winning project at Blakeburn cottage involved the complete overhaul of a mid-20th Century cottage to create a unique and elegant home in a fantastic rural location near Melrose, Roxburghshire. The footprint was extended to the east and west of the existing building, with the entire building over clad in scorched larch. Referencing the simple gable form of the existing building and use of a restrained pallet sympathetic to the site context, resulted in a refined form that allows the building to blend into the woods and countryside surrounding the site. Working from home as a writer, the client brief prioritised the quality and relationships between internal spaces. The internal arrangement was therefore conceived as a series of cellular spaces particular to her activities during the day; she now begins her day by writing in a studio where multiple picture windows frame different views of the morning light filtering through the woods, the kitchen and dining space capture late afternoon and evening sun, with large windows offering views to the surrounding countryside and direct access to the south facing terrace and orchard beyond, the day ends with star gazing from the bathroom and bedroom roof windows in the evening