Wood WORKS

AGAINST A BACKDROP OF BEAUTIFUL OAK BEAMS, MERRY AND BEN ALBRIGHT’S KITCHEN IS FILLED WITH CHARACTER AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

- LINDA CLAYTON

You could say oak-framed construction is in Merry Albright’s blood. Her father, John Greene, revived green-oak building in the 1970s, and now both Merry and her husband Ben work for Border Oak, the company her father founded. So, when seeking to build a bigger home for their growing family, oak-framed was a natural choice. ‘I love the process of designing and building houses,’ says Merry. ‘As the children grew, we began to look for a larger plot – we wanted stay in the countryside but with more outdoor space for the kids to run around.’

In fact, the family only moved to the neighbouring village, where both Merry and her father were born. ‘I love that our friends and families are nearby, and we also have some incredible craftspeople and artisans in Herefordshire, too, including blacksmiths, weavers, and cabinetmakers,’ says Merry. The new home, built in a contemporary barn style using a rustic palette of green oak, handmade bricks, oak cladding and clay roof tiles, was undoubtedly influenced by the couple’s day jobs, but the floorplan was all about family life. ‘The whole house design started from our ideas for the kitchen,’ recalls Merry. ‘I really wanted a large, bright kitchen that we’d all want to spend time in,’ she adds.