The Brook Meadow

The Brook Meadow is Rooted in the Land: A Playful Family Home Shaped by the Landscape

Perched on a hillside just beyond the town of Monmouth, this family home is grounded in its rural setting yet full of lightness and life. Where a crumbling cottage once stood, a new chapter unfolds — one shaped by the rhythms of the land, the movement of the sun, and the evolving needs of a growing family. The design responds to the slope with a gentle, angled form that opens to the views and welcomes the day from dawn to dusk.

At its heart, this is a home for living well. Spaces are open yet defined, flowing together with a quiet sense of purpose — kitchen, dining, and living areas merge with playful zones for work and creativity. Hidden desk nooks, a reading library woven into the staircase, and deep-set window seats offer space to pause. An integrated climbing wall invites adventure, bringing joy to the everyday.

The natural world is ever-present — framed in large, carefully placed windows and echoed in the material palette. Light and landscape filter through the home, while dual entrances — muddy boots one way, clean feet the other — support a lifestyle rooted in the outdoors. This is a house of contrasts: playful yet peaceful, contemporary yet grounded in tradition.

Project Detail

Set on a sloping site, built to PassivHaus standards, this low-energy home replaces a derelict cottage with a contemporary design that follows the land and sun. An angled form, open-plan layout, and carefully placed windows create strong connections to the landscape, while playful elements and quiet retreats support evolving family life. Locally inspired materials — stone, raw timber, and standing seam metal roof — anchor the building in its agricultural context, while sustainable, low-energy strategies underpin a thoughtful response to both setting and use.