Timber sash windows are a defining feature of Britain’s architectural history, from elegant Georgian townhouses to Victorian terraces.

At Alex Oliver Associates, we prioritise high-quality, handcrafted timber sashes to maintain authenticity in restoration projects and traditional-style new builds.

The English country house is a symbol of timeless elegance, and we take great pride in continuing this tradition through thoughtful, well-proportioned designs.

Our work at this house in the South Downs is a modern interpretation of this classic style.

Flint has been a staple of British vernacular architecture for centuries, particularly in the South of England. Whether used in traditional flint-knapped walls or as a striking feature in contemporary builds, this locally sourced, highly durable material adds character and texture.

This Arts and Crafts style home demonstrates the distinctive visual appeal of flint, especially when placed in contrast with brick and stone.

This cottage in Wiltshire is in its final stages, having been transformed from a small outbuilding.

We designed the main house on this estate a few years ago and were excited to be invited back for this project.

The result is a picturesque cottage which perfectly compliments the main house, using the same combination of red brick and white accents.

People often assume windows must be white, but that isn’t the case. There are many historical precedents for windows being coloured, throughout the history of architecture.

This Georgian style property we designed in the Test Valley has its windows, door case and porch painted in a pastel colour. This keeps the joinery feeling light and bright but without the starkness that brilliant white can sometimes bring.

Sometimes the success of the new hinges on the past. We incorporate character into our new buildings by using materials specific to the local area, this allows them to sit more comfortably within their surroundings. In this case we used Chilmark stone from Lovell Stone Group, Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC bricks and local flint.

This new country house in Hampshire was designed to appear as though it had evolved over time. The rear section was designed and details as a vernacular farmhouse, with the front section having a more formal Classical character, reflecting the evolution of many historic farmhouses, where their owners became more affluent and wished to enhance and gentrify their homes.

Another country house, another elegant staircase design.

For this project we designed this beautiful staircase which showcases traditional detailing at its best. The traditional wreathed volute at the end of the oak handrail compliments the single curtail of the bottom step and juxtaposes these traditional Georgian details with more contemporary metal spindles.

We love a challenge, whether that be a demanding brief, tricky topography or environmental restrictions. We find these challenges result in a solution which is robustly and intrinsically rooted in the place, making the building feel 'at home' in its surroundings from day one.

This award winning house in Wiltshire brought us a seriously challenging site in a UNESCO world heritage site and in an area of particular interest to the County Ecologist. The result is a comfortable home for a young family that feels like it's always been there, sitting comfortably in relation to the church, the conservation area and the rest of the village.

Sometimes a client comes to us with an existing property which may look like it’s been altered too much to make something promising out of what’s there. Looking closely can sometimes give the germ of an idea for a rescue rather than a rebuild.

This 1908 country house in Wiltshire had been much modified over the years, but the striking gable of the original proved to be an excellent starting point for a triple gabled reworking as seen here in these before and after photos. Brickwork painted in a carefully selected shade, better proportioned timber sash windows and a reclaimed Welsh slate roof have completed the transformation.

When working in traditional styles of architecture it is important to get things ‘right’. Many different elements need to coalesce correctly for the finished scheme to look comfortable.

Take for example this country house in the North Wessex Downs AONB. Carefully modelling the form of the house by breaking the mass of the building into two forms with different but complimentary looks, rather than simply using the same style of all elevations gives the overall scheme a more interesting aesthetic of contrast that reflects a narrative of development over time.

The application of the Golden Section ratio to plan, elevation and openings of the building ensures comfortable proportions in keeping with traditional forms. Careful selection of materials (reclaimed brick, render and timber windows) allows the building to feel grounded and ‘at home’ on the site from day one.

All of these carefully considered choices add up to a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

There’s just something very welcoming about a portico. Not only does it provide shelter from the rain when opening the door on a purely practical level, but aesthetically it also provides depth and interest to the façade of a building.

A portico can also set the tone of the experience of being in the building, from the very grand and formal, to the more relaxed and welcoming as seen here. The portico on this country house in the South Downs is elegantly restrained so as not to feel overpowering and is immaculately executed by Agincourt Contractors.

Being asked back to work on a project we designed originally is always very nice, like catching up with an old friend you haven’t seen in a long while.

If nothing else it is reassuring when one revisits to see again that the ideas we had in the studio translated well into the finished building and to observe how it has become the treasured house and home we always hoped it would be.

We’ve recently been invited back to a country house we designed in Berkshire over a decade ago to extend it sympathetically and ensure it evolves to suit the changing needs of the family who have owned it since new. We look forward to sharing the progress with you as things develop.

It is not unusual that a client will approach us with a site which already has a building on it, sometimes we can work with the existing buildings, sometimes there are too many issues with the existing building to make this feasible and sometimes it is just in the wrong place. By examining all the options we can deliver a design which fully exploits the opportunities a site presents to provide the optimal solution.

These before and after photos show an example of this where a distinctly poor example of a 1960s/70s house was replaced by this Georgian inspired design in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The more historic wing at the front was retained and carefully repaired to act as an annexe.

Some things seem simple at first glance. To get the effect we were striving for with the brickwork on this property in Wiltshire, we had to select the bond, chose the brick (handmade by Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC), specify the mix of lights and darks, select the aggregate mix to give the desired colour and texture for the lime mortar, specify the joint thickness (5mm rather than 10mm), and then oversee the work on site with co-operation from the excellent brickwork sub-contractor and main contractors. The outcome looks effortless, making the great effort worthwhile. Suffice to say everyone's hard work was rewarded by the project being shortlisted for The Brick Awards run by the Brick Development Association (BDA).