“Their confidence gave us confidence they knew best – now we’re really glad we listened to them.”

Cliff Almond and his wife Dani set about transforming their 1890s house with a modern extension but an oak frame became the unexpected solution they didn’t know they were looking for.

‘The original design was large and open-planned and when we saw visuals of our new kitchen in the space, we were disappointed at the lack of character in the modern architecture, which didn’t gel with the age of the house,’ Cliff explains. ‘Welsh Oak’s design with the rustic raw oak frame looked elegant and as simple as it gets – that’s what sold us to go down this route.’

Cliff and Dani had lived in their period property some four years before they began the design process for the changes they wanted to make. An obvious decision was to replace a double-fronted plastic conservatory across the front of their house, which had uninterrupted views of the countryside in the four acre setting.

‘We live in the Forest of Boland, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, so although we had some design ideas, it wasn’t about what we wanted but a matter of what we’d be permitted to do,’ Cliff explains.

The couple were recommended an architect and quite quickly the project grew from an extension to a whole house renovation. At a pre-planning meeting, they were advised to reduce the size and scale of the addition and after nine months of discussions they got planning approval.

‘The extension is on the footprint of the old conservatory and almost identical in form with two pitched roofs,’ says Cliff. ‘It’s actually better than the first design, fitting in with the roofline of the house and looking much more seamless.’

With the pandemic coming to an end and house projects picking up pace, Cliff found it impossible to find a building contractor with availability. He decided to project manage the renovation and package up the trades – including looking for a frame supplier.

Although Dani and I thought we wanted a modern glass and steel structure, we had to keep our options open and explored working with Welsh Oak Frame who we found online,’ Cliff explains.

While going through the design process with them, the couple had already decided to buy a kitchen from Stuart Frazer, inspired by a photo in a local magazine. Cliff is a keen cook so central to the extension design concept was an open plan living space with the kitchen as the focal point. However, things took a turn when both companies came back with their 3D visuals.

‘We thought we’d be blown away by seeing the kitchen in the modern design but the architecture lacked something,’ says Cliff. ‘In contrast, the exposed oak frame and high vaulted ceilings in Welsh Oak Frame’s plans completely hit the mark, we knew this was the right way to go.’

The couple refined the oak frame design with the team, adding a pair of metre deep roof canopies and at one point, questioning the need for a central post in the dual apex layout.

‘I asked the designer to remove the post because we thought it was in the way,’ says Cilff. ‘But the team really believed in their design and stressed that it would add to the character. Their confidence gave us confidence they knew best – now we’re really glad we listened to them.’

When the boarding came down after the frame went up, the couple finally got a proper feel for the new space. The large oak frame extension was perfect.

‘That was the wow moment we were looking for, it was pretty special, and strange to think at the start oak had been the complete opposite of what we thought we wanted,’ says Cliff.

The frame inspired the couple to bring in oak details elsewhere such as the porch, staircase, internal doors, upstairs flooring and shelves. The kitchen cupboards were switched to smoked oak veneer and brushed brass finishes to marry with the timber’s colour profile. The modern flair in furniture, lighting and fittings, too, give the couple the contemporary look they wanted in their period home.

‘We’ve no regrets – we’ve even got used to the cracks we sometimes hear at night when the frame shifts and settles!’ says Cliff. ‘The oak is a living structure. The quality and craftmanship is second to none. It’s warm, tactile and was the right decision to lead the extension design and bring the whole house together – we’re incredibly proud of our large oak frame extension.’