The Gatward’s Traditional Oak Framed Cottage Styled With Contemporary Interior

Julian and Vanessa Gatward bought a detached 1930s house in Kent with plans to renovate. But as they moved through the design phase, the project began to look more viable if they knocked the building down and started again. The cost to renovate wasn’t too far off the cost to rebuild from scratch and they liked the idea of having oak incorporated into their new home.

The couple contacted some oak frame companies, but wanting a hybrid frame of oak and softwood, there were few that would do this. ‘I remembered Welsh Oak Frame would put oak where you wanted it with a mix of oak and softwood framing. It’s more cost effective and we needed this for our budget. Plus, they had some fantastic designs’ says Julian.
‘We asked Welsh Oak to put together a design to suit the layout we wanted,’ says Vanessa. ‘I really loved the projection of the central gable at the front with the beautiful porch, oak railings and dormers above.

Julian says the Welsh Oak team were immediately on board with a friendly and personalised service. ‘They were happy to design a hybrid frame for us and were always patient and accommodating. Julian and Vanessa wanted exposed oak in all the main living spaces and softwood in the guest bedroom, study, bathrooms and utility

‘Welsh Oak also put a lot of effort into the small details,’ adds Vanessa. ‘They engraved the name and date of our house in roman numerals above the window seat and in the front gable’

Outside, the house has a brick and render finish with oak framing on the front gable and in window details. The builder recommended the aged brick with its mottled colours; the traditional roof tile took a little longer to choose.

The frame arrived three months after the house began and was up in three weeks. ‘The oak makes this a warm, family house which is exactly what I wanted for our family’ says Julian.

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