PERFECT SYMMETRY

Lara and James Barton's cottage renovation ensured the rooms inside were every bit as beautiful and colourful as the views and the mountain setting

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Friends visiting Lara and James Barton at their renovated Welsh stone cottage find it hard to tell which parts are original and which are more recent additions. 'These days, the entire property looks as though it has always been here,' says James. 'It's been sensitively restored and extended, and now that the cottage is symmetrical, it feels much more balanced.'

Back in 2020, during the pandemic, the London-based couple were yearning to get back to the countryside and mountains close to the house owned by Lara's parents, near Snowdonia National Park, in North Wales. 'Lara spent a lot of time exploring Snowdonia when she was a child, and we'd often visited as a family,' James explains. 'As walking in the mountains is a passion we share, we couldn't wait to return to this beautiful, wild area.'

That summer, they came up with an exciting plan. 'We began talking about transforming an old gardener's cottage in the grounds of my in-laws' home into a holiday cottage for ourselves,' James reveals. Liaising with Michael Brooke of Smith Brooke Architects, plans were drawn up to extend and remodel the existing property. Michael suggested replacing the garage adjoining the cottage with an extension built in Welsh stone to match the existing property. This would create more space and give the cottage a symmetrical façade.

The Bartons' new-look home would include an open-plan, vaulted living space featuring a kitchen, dining and sitting area, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a cloakroom, boot room and study. 'We particularly loved the fact that virtually every room would have views of the glorious, mature gardens surrounding the property,' says James.