Living Space

We videoed me introducing the new house for you all to watch. Our goal is to teach others to build a wide range of furniture pieces for furnishing the home. It’s a long term objective and we want to update people on what’s happening. The important thing for people to see is that this ties all the pieces of work we have done over the years into a training program for woodworkers new and seasoned. Join us as I start designing and building furniture for the home. I think you will be totally inspired.

Included in our goals is hearing from you. We’ve been asking ourselves the question, ‘What do people want in their living room?‘ As a result we felt your input would be really helpful so we put together a questionnaire to enable this process so please add your input via the simple form. We only want this information and a bit of context to better understand our audience. The answers are anonymous and we only want it to hear about your views on the living room along with a bit of context.

This survey is now closed. Thank you everyone for all of your feedback. We now have everything that we need. We will keep you updated.

23 Comments

  1. Very exciting to actually see a walk through of the space and imagining whats to come. I guess the question is will there be one particular style/them throughout the house, or will you mix and match various styles? Will fill out the survey when I can.

    1. Yes Steve I thought the same….what style/period…..everyone to their own.
      Very nice house.
      Electrical sockets could be higher….did I hear Paul mention lounge skirting, would an electrician approve of rewire behind new 7″ skirt??
      I will be interested to see Paul’s interior door change, existing would look so different with several coats of paint. Not sure how much wood, considering possible dowel construction can be cut from sides.
      Paul mentioned changing boiler, a combination boiler would not need a hot water cylinder and loft tanks could come out……..leaving space for a model railway!!!
      Is damp to dinning room due to down pipe to rear or paving close to DPC.
      A good size garden ideal, as Paul says, for a veg plot.
      All in all a very nice house….lots for us to look forward to

  2. I am excited to see this all happen. Can’t wait too see your designs and her how you came about them. I am also glad to see you found a home and the peace I see in you here lately is nice.

  3. Paul, is there any chance that you might even put up some oak wall paneling in one of the rooms?

    1. Not really. I am focussing on furniture and woodworking that can be taken from the house if someone were to leave. Almost 50% of housing in the UK is rented – almost doubled since 2004. I want people to be able to at least possess their furniture and such but more than anything, I want them to own the skills of woodworking to a higher skill level than the so-called professionals.

      1. Somehow furniture should be easy to assemble/disassemble and should resist to this process. Cheap ikea furniture don’t resist 2-3 movements. Also there should be small number of strictly necessary items and it should be possible to use a simple car to move all the stuff.

        This are my ideas, after moving a couple of times around europe.

  4. Very nice to get your initial thoughts and to see the “blank canvass” you will be working with.

    One area we did not get to see is the loft. Easy access to a loft with a good floor can add a lot of useful storage space to a house and a loft conversion may be feasible. I guess this would be best considered when thinking about the staircase from ground to first floor.
    At the very least, the loft insulation should be checked against modern-day standards as this can have a big influence on the comfort of a house as well as heating bills.

    I would also consider moving the hot water cylinder into the loft to get it out of that cupboard. An airing cupboard is not necessary in that house. (Hint: keep the dipole switch & indicator light located on the first floor).

    As someone who has renovated three dwellings (and who is married to an architect), I would say that your thoughts expressed in the video made very good sense to me. The work is certainly feasible – probably daunting to those lacking the skills and therefore priceless for those willing to learn!

    This will be a huge success – not just for those of us who already know you but also among anyone and everyone wanting to create a beautiful home for themselves and who have yet to discover you!

    1. Many British houses of that style have now replaced the boiler with a ‘combi’ gas boiler, which provides ‘instant’ hot water on demand (as well as the central heating) so there is no need for a hot water tank or airing cupboard.

    2. The previous owner was a roofer. Highly skilled. He took off the whole of of the roof tiles, added modern breathing felt and the insulation is absolutely the best coverage I have seen. Some have criticised the position of downspouts and such but they fail to see that the downspouts were housing a system of rainwater collection and the high spouts off the ground was only an overflow for moderate excess once a year or so. The gutters are all clear and there are no trees higher or near to clog them. The downspouts go directly into a gathering system too. My garage workshop is wonderful. I have my benches in there so I can share my space with others, friends, students and such.

      1. Dear me Paul the only person passing constructive comments about your down spouts ( pipes to me) is me
        Ok ….the gutter feeding pipe discharging 18″ off the ground is from half the garage roof? Inside the garage I see white mould on wall and plywood shelf.
        Sorry if you find this a criticism but I don’t. It is not my business to pass any form of criticism but I see things as they are, and surely this is a friendly site where we all share and learn……not just one where we should say everything is rosy
        I could have said the paving is too high to the DPC…..see black brick work, it should be 6″ down i.e. Two brick courses. I could have said when you refered to a piece of furniture might have caused damp patch to dinning room wall ….I don’t see an impression in the carpet.

        You are simply an amazing man Paul and I bow to your vastly superior knowledge but to use your words
        ” building and other construction trades are not your remit” it is to some extent, mine.
        A colleague of mine a retired chartered building engineer AND time served joiner concurres with my views
        in future I will not be using you invitation to comment in the wish not to upset you

        1. I didn’t take your comment adversely John. I think some things were hidden. I only saw that the previous owners took one of the water barrels away and left the other so my thinking was the methodology was actually well thought through until the other barrel was taken away. The dampness in the garage was actually caused (I think) by the outside dirt/ground level being allowed to creep an inch or two above the DPC level. Pleeeease continue your input. You have always helped and been helpful. If I was indeed abrupt I am truly sorry and apologise unreservedly.

          1. Thank you Paul
            Let’s all go forward on this really interesting project and enjoy

            Regards John

  5. Paul, are you planning to live in the house once you are done, or is this just a vehicle for creating and filming your designs?

    1. I will be living there permanently. I want this house to be something people can grow their skills and understanding with. I simply go out and build my pieces starting with three measurements these days – height depth and width. Everything emanates from these three datum points. In my head I have all the sizes of components, the sizes of joints, types etc. This is not helpful to others so I have created drawings for people to follow over the last few years. Soon we will find the assistant I am looking for. Someone with CAD or Sketchup skills together with woodworking abilities too. That will help us to keep pace with our growth into this newish realm.

      1. That’s very exciting. I’m in my early thirties and in the fortunate position of owning a house, in some ways similar to yours (slightly older but with a substantial modern extension). It is mostly furnished as I expect many are these days with a mixture of flat packs from IKEA and as we have been able to afford, some solid wood (but still cheaply mass produced and imported) hardwood furniture and one or two second hand pieces.

        I’d love to be able to gradually replace them with hand crafted pieces (as time permits) so will be really keen to see what you develop (and whether my skills develop quickly enough to get close… For now I’d be happy to start with simple shelves and coffee tables etc but exciting to think about the eventual possibilities).

  6. I’m looking forward to watching the whole thing develop, and especially seeing how larger pieces, (wardrobes, dining tables etc), that are fully assembled, are manoeuvred into the place through the doors and upstairs. It’s always been an issue for me!
    Will you be filming any such difficulties when the time comes?
    Regards,
    Matt

  7. I actually quite like the panelled stair. You might consider simply updating the flooring rather than the joinery. And those sapele doors look very solid. They should’ve been painted white is all. The house as is has a kind of mid-century vibe which is very on trend ( I know you care about such things!) and it might be nice to build on that. Maybe furnish it in a Krenov style?

    As to building work key to releasing the potential is surely resolving the back. The garden and the short step across the patio to the garage are lovely. Bin the conservatory and properly open up the back of the house and the sightlines to that lovely courtyard space and the garden and woodland beyond. As is the conservatory only makes the back room gloomy without giving back anything nice in return. Maybe replace it with a modern extension scaled to right size a new open plan or semi open plan living / kitchen space?

      1. I think you’ve lucked out there, that sounds just the ticket. I’ve found carpet can make tight spaces feel more claustrophobic so you maybe bringing back that hardwood flooring is all you need to make the white joinery sing again. More practical too in a hallway of course.

        1. I just discovered that the previous owners put carpet over some lovely hardwood flooring so looking forward to seeing that back in its full glory.

  8. I think it would be wonderful to see a series on the out of doors as well. Chickens, dogs, a small outbuilding, rabbit hutches. With skills I learned from you, i built my dad a cedar top bar beehive. Dovetail construction with a sheetmetal telescoping cover.

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