An Aspen/Snowmass ski house at an elevation of 9000 feet (2700 meters) with 180 degree mountain views this 6000 square ft (557 square meters) house was originally constructed in 1989.

In this project the house was effectively rebuilt on the inside and new exterior construction added enlarged bedrooms and sliding glass windows/doors to all rooms. Adding significant lateral structural support where required, the interior was entirely de-constructed to replace the overcrowded and boxy living space by opening up the double height rooms. Full height sliding doors were inserted for the kitchen/living room, five bedrooms and media room and the house is now flooded with light and views - dramatic snow capped mountains in the winter and aspen trees in the summer.

Reclaimed vintage chestnut boards are used throughout with underfloor radiant heating. Low voltage computer controlled lighting creates a theatrical atmosphere at night. Walls were rebuilt to incorporate a shadow gap and visually 'float', amplifying the flow of space and continuity. Large pieces of glass were inserted in many walls, without noticeable framing, that have the effect of bringing the dramatic outside landscape 'inside' and become a feature of the house. The stair treads are covered in reclaimed leather imported from Argentina and stitched by an American saddle maker, and the handrails are made from folded mild steel.

The double entry doors were custom made in copper and in a later renovation the entire exterior of house was covered in reclaimed barn siding and the original roof was replaced with rusted steel.

A series of white pods were constructed containing the working elements of the kitchen (with sliding pocket doors) and restrooms, leaving the apex of the roof construction and ceiling visible throughout. The custom designed kitchen has freestanding granite work counters with anodized steel cupboards and drawers containing hobs, dishwasher, small fridges and storage. Elsewhere there are additional small fridges and a huge walk-in commercial fridge hidden behind the pods.

The master bedroom and bathroom are part of the same room but separated by a custom built wall that has the bed on one side and cantilevered stone wash-basins on the other. Both share an outside deck. The bathroom has a double walk-in shower and steam room with fire hydrant shower pipes and an oversize stone bath tub angled to watch the sunset.

On the lower level there are a series of bedrooms either with en-suite marble showers and steam rooms and/or with additonial freestanding bathtubs. In the newly constructed bedroom suites at the east and west end of the building the beds are cantilevered and face a wall of unframed glass that makes it appear that the room is open to the elements. In both these bedrooms room there are free standing bathtubs and an enclosed shower/steam room and restroom with sliding etched glass doors which allows for light to filter in as well as providing privacy.

The lower level also houses an office, tech room and media room with full kitchen.

Lighting is a particular feature of this design creating a dramatic backdrop at night for the extensive collection of contemporary art and photography.

The garden and landscape was extensively re-designed over several levels and extends to 1.5 acres with a strategically placed hot tub.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

Photography: Michael Crockett

Press: Aspen Peak Magazine, Elle Decoration China, Dezeen

The project was a disused 750 square feet (70 square meter) concrete shell in an old 1960's office block.

The double height volume, stretching the 40 feet (12 meter) length of the shell, has abundant natural daylight and rooftop views views to the East. The living space serves a row of compartments for cooking, working and sleeping with guest beds and games consoles hidden behind folding-steel panels.

An open tread stairs lead up to a newly constructed 430 square feet (40 square meter) mezzanine gallery with a matching cantilevered bed and a free-standing cedar-wood bath. The purity of the space is counter-balanced by tables, shelves and the cantilevered stairs made out of folded mild steel which preserves the feeling of rawness and robustness.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

Photography: Michael Crockett and Ray Main

Awards: Best Building in London/London Open House

Press: The Times, Daily Telegraph, BBC Television, Channel 4 Television, Elle Decoration France, Elle Decoration China, Architectural Journal, Journal-du-Design

A House in South Kensington, London.

A complete remodel of a substantial late 19th century house overlooking one of London's most elegant garden squares with an eclectic mix of historical details and contemporary architectural aesthetic.

Design details include a 9 meter (30 ft) wall of minimal kitchen units with a backlit glass wall; re-instatement of original Victorian plaster ceiling cornices; floating shadow-gap walls and pour-in resin floors with radiant heating; full height 180 degree hinged doors and full height panels concealing additional heating from wall radiators.

Custom designed furniture includes a powder coated white steel kitchen bar and a cantilevered bed. The contemporary elements juxtapose the original stripped back Bath stone staircase and iron balustrades leading to the bedroom and bathroom floors. Restored original shuttered full length windows overlook the gardens and lead to an outside balcony. A custom designed master bathroom with double-size walk in glass shower and other bathrooms with coloured glass wet rooms continue the theme of natural materials, continuity and simple elegance.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath/Fiona Cowan

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

Photographs: Michael Crockett

Press: The Daily Telegraph, Dezeen, Elle Decor

An interior conversion of a tired top floor apartment overlooking the River Thames in London.

Working within the constraints of the existing structure with the removal of just a few interior walls and a small budget, the theme in this project focused on light, minimalism and continuity to create an inspiring living and working environment.

The muted colour palette of matte white walls, light maple flooring and careful lighting combined with custom designed limestone topped kitchen units and a 6 feet (2 meter) square glass dining table are the focus of the living area which directly overlooks the river.

The bathroom continues the palette - a minimal grey tiled sanctuary - and the bedroom is a simple white painted tranquil space.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

Press: Hello Magazine; Living

A total restoration of an 18th century cob walled Devon longhouse together with newly constructed cottage, range of stables, outbuildings and landscaping/land management to create a family home/sheep farm and equestrian estate set in 30 acres of Devon, England countryside.

The original structure had been allowed to substantially deteriorate and over the years had acquired poor additions out of keeping with the original simple vernacular structure.

This challenging project required a great deal of research into the history and construction of cob buildings in the English west country dating back to the 13th century. "Cob" is the term for a mud building, which uses no forms, no bricks and no wooden structures. Cob was particularly common in Southwestern England and Wales, where the subsoil was a sandy clay, and other materials, like stone and wood, were scarce. English cob was made of a clay-based subsoil mixed with straw, water, and sometimes sand or crushed shale or flint. The stiff mud mixture was shovelled with a cob fork onto a stone foundation, and trodden into place by workmen. As the walls dried they were trimmed back substantially with a paring iron, leaving them straight and plumb and between 24 -36 inches thick.

In order to maintain the great value in tradition in English building techniques with this project, where necessary, some walls were re-constructed. The machine age has altered the process in only minor ways: a tractor was used to mix the cob rather than oxen and the sub-soil was amended to include sand or "shillet", a fine gravel crushed shale, to reduce shrinkage and cracking. Once the walls had dried - a process lasting almost a year - the lime-sand stucco was roughly applied by local Devon plasterers to closely resemble original techniques from hundreds of years ago.

A robust and simple approach to the interior was similarly applied.

Floors in the kitchen were covered in large terracotta tiles and the kitchen working area walls were covered in irregular tiles with a wide grout. Open shelves (no high level cupboards) were faced with wide ash lipping. An oil-fired white AGA range was installed - the only cooking apparatus in the house. Ceiling beams were painted white and all windows were replaced. Low voltage minimal light fittings were strategically located along with concealed lighting behind the shelves.

The stone staircase leading to one of the wings of the house was repaired and exposed and has become a feature of the kitchen.

Living areas have been treated simply. The introduction of a wood burning stove that heats the room and provides additional water heating for the main bathroom contributes to the low maintenance of the property.

The house water supply is sourced by a stream running from the woods above the house and it was necessary to construct an efficient water collection depository and filtering system and construct new underground pipes to the house.

The house is simply furnished in a muted palette of white, grey and beige tones which contrasts with the lush green countryside. Sitting at the head of its own valley the house is sited to protect itself from the elements.

New construction included the re-building of an outbuilding into a self-contained double-height apartment for guests with a kitchen/living room, bathroom and bedroom. Six stables with tack room and feed room were constructed under a reclaimed slate roof as well as a large open hay barn and double garage - unseen from the house. All new construction followed the original building methods described above.

Simple landscaping was introduced - messy shrubbery removed - and a flat lawn area surrounded by a gravel pathway with terracotta pots with lavender and a herb garden. 

Paddocks were post and railed and dry walls were re-constructed on some perimeters. Elsewhere traditional ancient hedge 'laying' methods were used to create natural enclosures for livestock.

A large menage for exercising and training horses was designed and constructed..

The property was purposefully designed to use as many natural and sustainable resources as possible.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Landscape Design: Nick Heath

Press: Country Life

The total restoration of a Grade II listed cottage originally built around 1700 from local Dorset stone under a terracotta tiled roof.

This small building - just 750 square feet (70 square meters) - had been neglected over the years. Sitting in its own walled garden next to the 13th century church it is reached by a grassy pathway from the road.

Low ceilinged and dark - with only one window facing north - the painstaking restoration was designed to fulfill the criteria of creating a small, warm, inviting get-away about 2 hours from London within the confines of a historical building listing.

Stour Provost is one the oldest and most picturesque villages in Dorset, England. Originally called Stower-Provost it was founded in the time of King John when a nunnery was founded. Subsequently the entire parish was given to King's College, Cambridge who owned it until 1925. The result is that the village is totally without any form of unsightly development. 

The restoration required strict adherence to original building technique regulations and code. Dormer windows were introduced to the upper level and two further new windows to the lower level designed to replicate the original windows elsewhere.

An unattractive extension was demolished and a new slightly larger extension constructed out of matching Dorset stone under a slate roof. This extension contained the main refurbishment of the house with a custom designed kitchen constructed by local workmen and the introduction of a terracotta tiled floor.

The entire house was painted white including all beams and ceiling. The original fireplace opening was re-opened and a steel fire hood and fire dogs made by a local blacksmith.

The kitchen and dining area was opened up to the small living room that featured a large wood burning fireplace as the focal point. Decorations were minimal - a sofa, a rug from Conran and subtle free standing light sources. 

The kitchen was designed as the hub of the house with a very tactile but efficient working chef's kitchen with a large butcher's block for preparing food.

The exterior areas were paved with York stone to create an outside dining area under an ancient apple tree.

The garden was re-stocked with traditional English country garden plants - Hollyhocks, Delphiniums, Phlox, Daisies and Poppies.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Landscape/Garden Design: Nick Heath

The kitchen has always been the hub of a house. And in today's world the kitchen is an integral part of life for the family. Good design and good looks have never been more important in this respect. These kitchens are not hidden away in the basement or behind closed walls - they are the central core of the houses and often are (where possible) a part of the living area.

Equipped with professional standard hardware on the principal that an excellent batterie de cuisine is not only practical but is also enjoyable to use, preparing food in these kitchens is a pleasure that all present can enjoy.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

Of all the places in a house the bathroom should be a place of tranquillity and contemplation.

These bathrooms have been designed to be a pleasure to be in and often integrate with the exterior dependent on design limitations and privacy.

A large stone bathroom tub overlooking the mountains facing west to catch the sunset; a deep cedar tub that fills the surrounding open area with the smell of cedar when filled with water; freestanding tubs next to bedrooms that are a part of the room's art gallery; glass enclosed showers and steam rooms that allow the light to filter in; double showers that encourage dual bathing; tactile surfaces and stone font basins connect ancient architectural forms with modern technology; wet rooms, made out of colored back-painted glass where space is limited: all these fulfill the criteria of tranquillity and contemplation.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

The bedroom is often relegated to a place only designed for night-time sleep.

In these designs the bedrooms become a place where you can retreat to at any time of day to rest, read or look at the landscape in peace.

Often integrated with open bathing facilities many of these designs feature a cantilevered bed.

The visually 'floating' bed has become a signature design of mine. There is something extraordinarily calming about sleeping 'floating in the air' that provides a peaceful sleeping experience whilst also offering a unique platform to sit and contemplate the world.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

The use of dramatic lighting has been one of the guiding principals in my designs.

So often houses are littered with numerous down-lighters that flatten out the light and make a home feel like a department store.

In all the designs shown here lighting is controlled by a sophisticated system of dimming that turns the spaces into a theatrical experience picking out art and furniture together with work spaces. 

There is a startling magic in achieving the effects shown here.

Lighting Design: Nick Heath

Design details are the vital components that run through any design scheme.

In these examples they set the tone for the entire spatial experience.

Shadow-gap walls that float above the floor; cantilever beds that seem to be floating in mid-air; full height panels that conceal ugly radiators; resin floors that reflect the light; painted wooden floors that 'create' light but also show the underlying patina of a reclaimed floor; re-claimed flooring and siding that creates a timelessness; subtly lit stair treads; invisibly lit glass panels in a kitchen; custom designed tables, wash basins and other pieces that support the design ethos; fold back full height doors, pivot doors and pocket doors; dove-tailed granite kitchen work surfaces; granite that evokes ancient history; pods containing restrooms that are at matching uniform height to create visual continuity; lighting that enhances details; important contemporary art and photography; post modern furniture pieces; luxurious linen.

In every design project there is a holistic approach to everything that integrates the interior and exterior environment. Making those choices are the greatest pleasure both for the designer and client. 

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Interior Design: Nick Heath

Custom Furniture Design: Nick Heath

The landscaping of a mountain garden at a height of 8000 ft (2700 meters) and refurbishment of exterior siding and roof.

The house faced onto a 1.5 acre plot of overrun hillside and was transformed by the creation of three separate levels of landscape.

The top level accessible from the house was landscaped to provide space for a hot tub, decking and sitting area.

The second lower level was reached by the insertion of steel railway girders to create a series of grass steps.

The third lowest level was accessed by a carefully cut pathway through the planting of tall wild grass.

The remainder of the garden was extensively seeded with wild flowers.

The original restoration and design of the house was completed with a newly painted board siding. This was subsequently removed and replaced with reclaimed vintage barn siding that requires no upkeep in its natural state. The original roof - that needed replacing - is now rusted steel which maintains the robust rawness of a house required to weather severe winter storms and snowfall.

Architectural Design: Nick Heath

Landscape Design: Nick Heath/Fiona Cowan

This project was more than just about the house and buildings.

The 30 acres of land offered a unique opportunity to create an entire lifestyle based around the dramatic landscape that included careful and sensitive land management.

An equestrian venture accompanied the house with the breeding of Irish thoroughbred horses. Horses and sheep graze silently in the various paddocks fenced by traditional post and rail fencing in this pastoral landscape unaffected by the noise of the modern world.

There are hundreds of years of history in such places and little changes across those years.

The restoration of the house, building and the land was the ultimate holistic project.

Landscape Design: Nick Heath