A contemporary makeover and interior renovation transforms a 1980’s home in Henley

A substantial 1980’s house set in Parkland in Henley required a complete update. The homeowners wanted to refresh and open up the interiors, including making better use of an under used garden room. Creating a fabulous open plan kitchen space was a key requirement for our client who is a very keen chef. Connecting the interior to a lovely pool and garden space was also a challenge.

Absolute Architecture stripped back and opened up the interiors, removing internal walls to bring in light and create a large social living space. The dark wood windows and interior fittings were banished, replaced with a palette of fresh, contemporary materials that set off a beautiful, bespoke joinery made kitchen.

Location: Henley, Oxfordshire

Materials: Super-efficient timber and aluminium windows by Internorm transformed the exterior of this property. A dark and gloomy interior was brightened by opening up the space and using a palette of light grey limestone effect porcelain set off with a pale oak and a blue kitchen.

The clever aspects: This project is all about space and materials. Lots of small rooms have been opened up to create a much better social living space and the 80’s gloom has been banished. The use of high efficiency glazing and better insulation made this possible, bringing an under used garden room into the main house as an integral part of the space.

Friends on the project: For this interior and exterior transformation, the homeowners used:

• Donovan Construction were the main contractors
• Snug kitchens designed a bespoke joinery made kitchen and dressing room
• Internorm provided the passive house standard glazing

We love: This is now a house that allows the homeowners to live the life they wanted. The bright and uplifting interior sets off the perfect kitchen that our keen amateur chef client always dreamed of. The bright social space opens up to the garden, pool and tennis courts facilitating the perfect  indoor/outdoor lifestyle.