Whether you’re contemplating a full home renovation extension, or simply want to add an oak home office or garden room, we could all use a little inspiration, right? Especially with the weather in the mid-winter doldrums and spirits low. So the Monarch Oak team have scoured the world looking for stunning oak buildings you can use as inspiration for your own home projects, too!
Westminster Hall
Absolutely no blog on oak buildings could miss this one off of the list. Westminster Hall has the longest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe, funded by licenses charged to the banished who wanted to come home. It dates from 1393, and the timber alone is thought to weigh over 600 tonnes! A beam with 26 angels all carved from the same length is just one of the stand-out decorative features.
What lessons from Westminster Hall can you apply to your build? Oak is a warm and welcoming material, the perfect thing to have funded with a longing to come home. If you’re planning an oak extension or oak garden room, why not try to bring that same warm spirit into your project? Westminster Hall is also famous for its hammerbeam trusses and decorative roof. While you may not want to go full medieval on your home renovation, why not keep that same spirit fresh and see what little touches you can use to make the oak a feature, not merely a building material?
Mjøstårnet
While its name may be a mouthful, Mjøstårnet in Norway is something of a global marvel- it’s the tallest building made entirely with wood in the world. While it’s not strictly made with all-oak, it does bring some exciting inspiration to the table, and a few good lessons, too. Moelven, the company that built Mjøstårnet, focused on creating a carbon-neutral, eco-friendly project with sustainable building practices.
While you’re probably thinking of the ease with which your oak home office can be added to your property, with none of the slog of brick-and-mortar building, this is a great thing to keep in mind. Oak is a fully renewable resource, and very sustainable. All woods store CO2, too, meaning no carbon emissions are released. Neat, right?
Chester Rows
Coming closer to home, Chester Rows help define the city of Chester, and they’re a unique stand-out in the architectural world. With lower stories of stone to be fireproof, with huge oak frames laid on top, they can be up to five stories high. Having a shop in the lower level is still something prestigious. They’re mentioned throughout history for their size and eye-catching nature. Rumour always mentions the design in connection with repelling bandits, though the historical evidence is scarce
There’s a lot to inspire your home renovation in Chester Rows. Think of how they use a subtle design aspect to capture the imagination and define the property. Think of that feeling of ‘defending your nest’ from bandits, and fully incorporating a stand-alone project like an oak garden room into the sense of home. Don’t forget how nicely stonework enhances an oak building, either. While you probably don’t need to repel bandits with solid stonework, some lovely natural stone pavers around your oak garden room could look gorgeous. And possibly consider a homage to the traditional Tudor-style buildings in your own project, too! Black and white is always an eye-catching combo!
House K
Nestled in Stockholm, Sweden, House K was built by Tham & Videgård Arkitekter. Clad head-to-toe in moody black-stained panels, it captures an eclectic look that stands out from the natural world around it without being jarring on the eye.
What lessons does House K teach us? First up, don’t be intimidated by colour! While many love to leave their oak extensions exactly as-built because of the soft lustre of oak, you aren’t confined to it. Modern wood stains are convenient to use, and oak holds colour well. While it will lead to a little more upkeep over time, it’s a great way to play with personality. House K also has a modern feel to it you might like to capture for an oak home office, offering some design inspiration for incorporating oak into more modern architectural designs.
Fogo Island Inn
This intriguing all-timber build was used to create an interesting architectural focal point on the distant Newfoundland island of Fogo. The hope was to reinvigorate the former fishing village into a new tourist destination. The Fogo Island Inn has a remarkable appearance, echoing the simple silhouettes used by local cottages. Parts of the structure are stilted, for added inspirational touches and mimicking some local building styles. It also has an ultra-modern air about it, echoing the remarkable architectural projects we’ve seen with shipping containers, too.
The Fogo Island Inn urges you to think of your oak home renovation as a new lease on life, a way to reinvigorate your property with an extension you can enjoy, that speaks to whimsy and fun as well as practicality. Oak is the perfect building material for the UK, too, inviting you to add some echoes of our historic past to your new, beautiful building.
The Oak House
We bet you can guess what this house in Greets Green, near West Bromwich, is made of! It’s another traditional Tudor-style home, dating from at least 1634 if not a little earlier. Today it is used as a museum. It underwent refurbishment at the hands of local craftspeople in 1898, and is now a listed building. It’s a beautiful example of historic oak architecture, including the interiors.
What inspiration does The Oak House have for our home renovation? Firstly, it shows the importance of planning for maintenance! Oak is a building material that can last for millennia when treated well, so keeping up on a few easy tasks every two years is a great investment. It’s a gorgeous example of traditional U.K oak architecture to sit alongside the more modern buildings we’ve looked at, too.
And there you have it! Some oak eye candy to inspire your new oak home office or home renovation. Remember, the Monarch Oak team is always here to help you make the most of your project, so if you have any wonderful ideas, don’t hesitate to get in touch today!