Old Stone Cottage Case Study

Design Brief

"The brief for this renovation at Old Stone Cottage was to replace an existing wood and glass lean-to with a larger, triple glazed, garden room with insulated roof and underfloor heating. We also planned to knock through parts of the stone wall to the back of the cottage so that we could access the new garden room from both the living room and kitchen to create a much better flow to the downstairs living space. We planned for the new room to be big enough for both a dining area as well as a small informal sitting/TV area."

"Before" Photos

Project Information

"On an earlier project in the house, we were looking for some flagstones for an inglenook fireplace that we were restoring and came across Westminster Stone. Being local to us, we decided to investigate options for the hearth. We found the National Trust Hidcote Flagstones from the Cotswold Manor range and were able to go away with the slabs there and then. They fitted beautifully in place and really set the fireplace off as a feature.

Old Stone Cottage itself is a 17th Century former smallholding. It was constructed using traditional oak framing and local sandstone. We were keen to make the extension oak framed to match the original palette of materials. When we were excavating the old kitchen floor for the underfloor heating, we unearthed the original sandstone flags from when the cottage was first built.

As you can imagine, they were very worn and the majority had unfortunately crumbled. However this lead to us deciding to replicate a traditional flagstone look in the finished room. As we had already bought the Westminster stone flags for our hearth, we thought they’d be ideal for the extension floor. It would also link nicely to the flagstone patio which was already outside.

The tones of the Hidcote flags matched the internal sandstone walls perfectly. Unfortunately, the flags that we had used for the hearth were too thick for the extension, but we were thrilled to find out Westminster could produce our order in a reduced 25mm thickness with fast delivery."

"The Westminster flags ticked a lot of boxes for us. They suited the property, they had great durability (dogs and children!), they could be used with underfloor heating, and they could be produced in a reduced 25mm thickness for interior stone floors. Another benefit was that we could order more for other rooms at a later stage and be guaranteed the colour would be the same. Whereas limestone tiles, for example, change quarries and you may not be able to match the original tile colour.

We are really happy with the overall result and finish of the room. We plan to use Westminster Stone again for our future projects, including a circular brick patio we are laying where we’d like to incorporate a granary millstone as the centre."

Westminster Stone would like to extend huge thanks to Deb for her extensive testimonial and for the use of the photographs of her beautiful family home.

Get The Look

Deb and her family used National Trust Hidcote Flagstones both inside and out to great effect. Westminster Stone are the only manufacturers of these wonderful flagstones for patios and interior stone flooring. Buy online with free UK delivery for orders over £500+vat.

Hidcote Paving

40mm thick paving flagstones for creating pathways and patios in traditional gardens.

Hidcote Flooring

25mm thick flagstones for stone flooring in period properties, cottages and listed buildings.