A wooden stilt house on the bucolic car-free island of Wheatleys Eyot, with a nearby creek for wild swimming
How does starting your summer’s day with a swim in a creek sound? It’s a lifestyle that we certainly long for, particularly during the sunny months (although the brave will make a case for cold-water swimming all year round), and it’s on offer on Wheatleys Eyot. It might be modest in size, but the island more than makes up for that with its verdant natural landscape. The pretty wildflower meadows, where bluebells and daisies grow in abundance alongside tall grasses home to birds, butterflies and bees, make a firm case for letting more manicured gardens grow free.
It was important, then, that when BCDH Architects came to design this single-storey structure, they ensured it would sit gracefully within the surroundings. The practice landed on honey-hued sapele wood for the exterior, which they thoughtfully treated so that it weathers wonderfully over time. Meanwhile the stilts promise protection from potential rising water and mean minimal destruction to the natural inhabitants beneath the house. The rest of the building is comprised primarily of glazing, with large floor-to-ceiling windows on every side of the boxy build.
The inside is also worth waxing lyrical about. With minimal palette of white walls and burnt-orange wooden floorboards, eyes are drawn to the lush leafy scenes beyond – a picture that’s as pleasing as any painting. That said, with ceilings reaching three metres tall, there’s plenty of space for artwork to hang on the walls. Sometimes though, as the current owners prove, you need little more decoration than a bunch of wildflowers on the dining-room table. While the main living spaces are open-plan in layout, two bedrooms are tucked away at one side of the house, with views of the Thames from their windows. The third bedroom is even more of a retreat: find it within an annexe, with its own en suite, in the garden.
We couldn’t think of a better way to end today’s tour than to come back to the glorious waterside. This chapter of the river is particularly special, being non-tidal and only affected by rainfall. There’s a real sense of tranquility here, one city dwellers may have hitherto only dreamed of. Yes, we hear you – a car-free island might not sound convenient, but how about a motor boat as an alternative means of transport? That’s how the current owners whip around, using it to reach nearby restaurants, pubs – the Angel of Walton, just down the river, is a local favourite – and neighbours further along the banks. It’s only a bonus, then, that the house comes with mooring on the Thames. Tempted? Us too.
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