A couple converted an old pigsty into a modern home

Step inside this contemporary Cotswolds build

There’s no denying that England's Cotswolds region is a fashionable place to live. But while the traditional Cotswolds style may be a big draw for many, as this huge home project shows, the region is also capable of 21st-century style.

This new build by interior designer Pippa Paton and her husband Scott saw the evolution of the scant remains of an old livestock building into a cool, modern home.

Click or scroll on as we follow the couple's renovation journey...

Where it all began... on the farm

It all began with this: an old pigsty on a brownfield site within the large farm complex on which Pippa and Scott, the owners of Pippa Paton Design, live. As you can see, all that remained of the pigsty was what Scott describes as a “very mangy old concrete slab with some block walls.”

By the time Pippa and Scott began thinking about how to develop the land its previous use had been long forgotten and it had become a place to park horseboxes.

A challenging landscape

The couple realized that there was more of a slope to the land than they initially thought – a drop of around 47 to 59 inches across the site – which prompted them to consider whether they could use the topography to their advantage. 

They were restricted in the house's ridge height due to neighboring buildings, which meant they couldn’t get two floors above ground. However, they also couldn’t fit everything they needed in a single story.

Creating an upside-down house

They started to think about other ways of getting the land to work for them: “We thought if we're really clever, we might be able to push the house into the ground,” Scott says. This initial idea was sparked around 2014/2015. The couple got building consent in 2016 and finally began building in 2019.

Discussing the build process, Scott said: “We basically dug a very big hole. We then sheet-piled it because the land is sand and clay.”

Building a solid foundation

This early foundation work was crucial to ensure the house and its complex landscaping, which includes a driveway at the back and a pond that wraps around in front, were possible.

The fact that the ground also fell away slightly further complicated matters. One of the earliest stages was to put concrete across the bottom to give Pippa and Scott a clean work surface to play with.

A watertight casing

From this concrete base, they created a reinforced structure made out of water-resistant concrete to reach above-ground level.

Scott says, “It is designed in such a way that there is not a single perforation through the house below ground level,” referring to this structure as a “concrete boat.”

Starting to take shape

These concrete walls were then wrapped in big yellow insulation. As you can see from this image, the house's back wall also has a very clear curve, which Scott says was the only way to make it work with the topography.

This is an architectural feature that the couple mirrored in the interiors. “It flows down through the whole house,” Pippa says, and you'll see more of this later.

Building blocks

Once the concrete structure was built, they installed beam-and-block flooring and then built block walls on top of that. 

Though the couple were hands-on with the build, there came a point when they were able to step back. Scott says, “The difference between a well-planned new build and a renovation is once you are effectively out of the ground on a new build, you know where you are with everything.” Unlike the renovations they are used to, there were minimal unforeseen issues.

Let there be light

As the three bedrooms the couple wanted to incorporate into their new build were going to be partially below ground, Pippa and Scott discussed lots of options for bathing the ground floor in light. “It required a sensible amount of engineering to make it work in the way it needed to,” Scott says.

In the end, they settled on a light well measuring about 3.3 feet by 8.2 feet that stretches the whole way down the back of the house.

Beams in place

The house has a steel and timber structure, and a flat roof and pitched roof mix. Though in terms of physical size, this project is much smaller than the ones Pippa Paton Design usually works on. Recent projects have been up to 12,000 square feet, while this property is only 2,501 square feet.

“We've done new-build extensions when we've worked on whole house renovations, but we haven't really undertaken a complete new build before,” says Pippa.

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A luxury Cotswolds home is born

“There are decisions you have to make with new builds that are different,” Scott adds.

“When you are working with a renovation, so many things are a given. There is a language to the building that exists. Whereas with this one, Pippa and I had to create that language from scratch, we had to decide how we wanted it to look.

“Being responsible for creating the language of a house is incredibly liberating in many ways, but you feel the responsibility.”

Work begins inside

When the time came to address the inside of the house, the couple had a clear vision of how they wanted it to look.

“Inside we've really emphasized the architectural shape,” Pippa says, adding that the unusual shapes and beams inside the property were key to informing her interior design and she had no intention of ever trying to cover them up.

Decorating commences

The fit-out called for the couple to become much more hands-on again. “Even with the best will in the world, as places come to life, you can see them and appreciate them differently,” Scott says.

“You have the opportunity to go ‘oh I know I designed it like that, but it might look better if we did it like this.’”

A clean slate to work with

Although Pippa chose to paint almost every wall in the house white, the many different shapes in the space and the way she sectioned areas make the interiors far from boring.

"Pippa's super-talent is the ability to create a deception from the outside and step into an interior that is so completely different from what one might expect from a traditional Cotswolds cottage,” Scott says.

Interior design masterclass

The contemporary elegance of Pippa's interiors encapsulates the changing face of Cotswold style. The couple dubbed it ‘21st-century Cotswolds’ because it’s not modern as such, but rather gives a sense of the possibilities that can be created in place of the more domestic interiors typical of the region, which can feel a little old-fashioned.

Sleeping (halfway) underground

The upside-down nature of Pippa and Scott's creation meant, as well as the light well, the couple had to think of ways to reduce the feeling of living underground, particularly in the bedrooms.

“We had to find a way of creating some degree of view and also ensure that they received enough light,” Scott says. To this end, each of the bedrooms has a reasonably sized window that looks out and up across the top of the retaining wall, which effectively encircles the house.

Light as a focal point

Here you can catch a glimpse of the light well from the inside, which, Pippa says, played a huge part in her interiors: “The light well has a massive influence on the house, because not only does it let light into the first floor, down on the ground floor, you do not feel like you're underground.”

The couple added a glass wall on the first floor with an unbroken view of a tapestry beneath the well – bold pieces like this are a trademark of Pippa's design style.

Statement lighting

“I very much use the building's interior as a backdrop for interesting pieces, so both the architecture and the items that you put in it stand out,” Pippa explains.

Pippa says that good quality but interesting lighting is also important. With white interiors, you can either go with small, well-placed lamps or statement pendants like in the dining area here.

Echoing the outside

Here you can see one example of how the architectural design of the building is mirrored inside, with the curve of that back wall clearly seen in the kitchen. Pippa and Scott also brought some other design features of the outside in here.

This includes the blackened timber of the exterior seen in the dresser and the island.

Interestingly, while the layout of the first floor is largely open-plan, a wall here hides the kitchen so dirty dishes can be forgotten as the owner relaxes or entertains.

Clever zoning

With the bedrooms in the house all downstairs, the first-floor open-plan living area can enjoy the full footprint of the building. 

But open-plan isn't all about big, empty spaces for Pippa: ”It's about how you divide those areas up.” There are five separate areas to this living space, but they all work well together, as Pippa trusted they would: “Pippa knew exactly what it would look like inside from the moment the house was built,” Scott says.

A bonus room

Though the nature of the new build meant there were few unwanted surprises, Scott says one unexpected outcome was the creation of this media room – the only room in the house not to be painted white.

“When work began on creating the hole at the start of the build, we needed to build a slope to get the machinery down,” Scott says, “and we soon realised it was a big enough area to create another room.” The result is this media room beneath the front terrace.

A sleek façade

After a few delays, the house was finally occupiable in 2024. Aside from the topography, the couple approached this project much as they do their other work. 

“The question is always: ‘how do you create something that feels like it should always have been there’” Scott says. “That's why when we looked at the stone, we wanted it built as a traditional Cotswolds stone wall. It’s about three years old now, and it feels like it's been there for a long time.”

New name, new home

Now named New Stall House, Scott says its geometry is redolent of a Cotswolds cottage. “The roof pitch is probably not as steep, but it feels like it can sit comfortably in this village, and it is not an affront to what is already here.”

The couple has also incorporated slate on the outside of the property, like the roofs around it, and traditional estate fencing. Scott says these details “really help settle the house into its landscape."

A contemporary Cotswolds rental

The result is a beautiful home that features three luxurious double bedrooms and carefully curated interiors in a palette of restrained neutrals.

The company’s expertise in interior design has married perfectly with their experience of managing architectural projects to create a really desirable category A house that is now managed by The Cotswold Letting Agency and currently let from £6,495 ($8.6k) per month.

A time for reflection

The couple are delighted with the completed project: “It's turned out even better than we hoped it might,” Scott says. “Though the builder did say to me that there were elements that were a bit trying.”

Nevertheless, for a total build and refit price of £750,000 ($995k), it's a home that sits in harmony with its surroundings and is quite the transformation from those humble beginnings.

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