The Cook’s House | Loader Monteith

Loader Monteith has reorganised a Victorian terrace house in Glasgow for a young family of four, creating a bright, communal kitchen and living area primed for hosting family and friends.

The Cook’s House exemplifies Loader Monteith’s considered approach to sustainability and the studio’s reputation for clever problem solving. Rather than extend the poorly-arranged existing layout as per the client's original brief, Loader Monteith encouraged the family to rearrange the rear plan, improving its functionality and allowing the clients’ budget to go further across the project.

Alongside the brief to create a practical, welcoming kitchen and dining space, Loader Monteith was tasked with re-connecting the ground floor to the large rear garden, which was visually and physically cut off from the living area. The visual separation between the garden and kitchen created a sense of unease for the clients, who could not keep an eye on their two young children as they played outside.

Loader Monteith’s first design decision was to shift the hallway door to the kitchen over by a width. This minor adjustment unlocked the rear plan entirely, allowing the architects to reposition the kitchen from the dark galley at the back of the house, to natural the centre of the home. This small change also created a view to the garden from the entrance hall, greatly improving the light and sense of arrival.

The new U-shaped kitchen features a muted blue palette with oak joinery, abundant storage and bench space, and a large breakfast bar which acts as an informal social and dining space. The kitchen is brightly lit by floor-to-ceiling glazed doors that open on the rear garden, connecting the young family when indoors and out.

Custom oak banquette seating with overhead and underseat storage characterises the dining space, providing a relaxing vantage point to look out onto the garden through two large windows, bordered by an oak shelving unit for the children’s toys.

At the rear of the new family room is a sitting area which opens onto the garden through large glazed doors. Loader Monteith opened the ceiling, contrasting textural beams overhead against minimal white walls to add height and reflect light throughout the plan.

The Cook’s House is a demonstration of Loader Monteith’s thoughtful spatial planning expertise, and their sensitivity to the surrounding environment and their clients needs; small design ideas have had great impact on the clients’ lifestyle. Despite being undertaken amidst restrictions caused by the covid-19 pandemic, Loader Monteith delivered this project on time and on budget.

Iain Monteith, Director, Loader Monteith says:

“On listening to our clients' ideas for how they wanted their home to work in with their lifestyle, we had the idea of rearranging the existing spaces rather than make a larger one. We designed many iterations for how the house could function without increasing the footprint, in order to maintain the generous rear garden, and have a smaller impact on the environment.”

Charlotte Anderson and Stuart Murray, Clients, says:

“We wanted the living and dining spaces of our home to be more welcoming and communal, and have a better view and connection to the garden. We had a dark, tiny kitchen and it wasn’t a space we enjoyed being in; we used to cook quickly and get out. It was very cramped.”

“We originally planned to extend the house to make more space for a bigger kitchen. Other architects we interviewed talked about how they’d fit an extension on a site, but Loader Monteith listened and understood what we wanted from our home, assessed the space we already had, and walked us through how we could simply make better use of it. Loader Monteith guided us through the construction phase which was invaluable.”

“We now spend most evenings in the new space as a family, where the kids can play while we cook and wind down. We live around our kitchen, so it’s good to have the work complete; we can finally spend time hosting family and friends."

Architect: Loader Monteith

Lead Architect: Iain Monteith

Design team: Iain Monteith, Jamie Mack

Clients: Stuart Murray and Charlotte Anderson

Structural engineer: Design Engineering Workshop

CDM co-ordinator:  Loader Monteith Architects

Main contractor: QBuild

Joinery: QBuild

Kitchen: Archispek