Living Room Design Photos with Limestone Floors and a Wood Stove

L ‘escalier de cette maison est en dur afin d’éviter la résonance.Il est coulé en béton et enduit de mortier ( un béton ciré très résistant. Il permet d' accèder à trois chambres . C’est très chouette dès l'entrée d’avoir une carte d’ambiances différentes contrairement à la monochromie des murs de la pièce de vie. Le parti pris de cette entrée est d’avoir mis des murs très sombres dans la cage d'escalier, Mousson de chez @argilepeinture, parce que ce n’est pas salissant, et pour avoir un coté accueillant et très enveloppant. Nous nous étions donné cette contrainte de mettre en valeur un vieux confiturier , de façon à ce que le sol ait l’air d’avoir toujours été là et en continuité avec l’existant. Ces teintes Dune, jaune et mousson donnent à ces dalles un coté contemporain et très authentique.

Living room painted in Pointing Estate Emulsion (walls), with All White (ceiling).

This spacious, light-filled family room blends comfort and function with subtle classical touches. A warm palette of soft beige and stone tones creates a calm backdrop for everyday life, while carefully chosen furniture and details add depth and familiarity. The room is cleverly zoned into dining and living areas: on one side, a generous solid oak dining table with benches offers plenty of space for shared meals and gatherings. On the other, a pair of soft cream sofas and a wood-burning stove set into a simple brick-lined fireplace create a cosy, lived-in corner anchored by a neutral rug. The light sage green walls provide gentle contrast to the crisp white cornicing and deep skirting boards, bringing a traditional architectural frame to a modern family lifestyle. Wall-mounted picture lights highlight framed prints, while a circular mirror above the fireplace offers visual symmetry and bounce. Large-format stone-effect floor tiles add a tactile, timeless quality underfoot, while the black-framed door to the left connects the interior seamlessly to the garden beyond, bringing in both light and greenery.

The centrepiece of this living room is the free standing stove. Detailing is kept simple with painted square edged skirting boards and Limestone flooring. Photo by Denis O'Farrell

The House: This Contemporary Cotswold Eco-house emulates South African thatch homes whilst retaining a distinctly vernacular feel to tie it to is locale. The large glazed and canopied gable was designed to connect the first-floor library office space directly to the garden. A reflection pool was used to bounce light into the room and onto the vaulted ceiling in the ground floor family space to produce a light an airy socialising area. As a keen cook our client wanted to be able to engage with their visitors whilst continuing to prepare food and drinks we therefore centred the kitchen between the open plan spaces, stealing some of the adjacent wing to form a large larder. With a bespoke kitchen, utility, boot room, office and staircases the external aesthetic was drawn throughout the internal areas to reinforce the connection between the interior environment and the gardens beyond. Landscaping: The gardens were designed to produce the wide ranging and varied spaces needed by a modern home. Next to the driveway is a small zen space with running water and a place to sit and reflect. There is a kitchen garden and store tucked behind the house, before you get to the formal rear gardens where a classic lawn and borders approach was used only broken by the reflection pool that anchors the space. Enclosed with a high drystone wall, patio and Barbeque areas were placed around the house and a section of the garden was segmented off to allow the ground mounted PVT panels to be hidden from view. This also produced a small orchard and chickens area. Sustainable features including: GSHP – a bore holed heat pump coupled with PVT to act as a thermal store when sunny. PVT – heat and electricity generating panels to minimise running costs. Sustainable materials and a local supply chain. Waste minimisation in design. High insulation levels (low U and Y values) Highly efficient appliances Bio-diversifying landscaping.

The exposed beams hold the dining and living areas together. The TV area has a neutral rug to define this space. A great space for family and entertaining guests.

A hand painted mural wall art of a Magnolia Grandiflora tree painted in the family room of a Hampshire country house. We were lucky with the beautiful 200 yr old beams, which the client and I incorporated into the mural in the design. I also considered the family dogs when sketching out the tree and gave them a shady bower to frame their bed.

Photograph of the new extension looking towards the kitchen, wood burner and courtyard garden

Matthew Clay Architects Ltd

Drawing room with custom sofa in Thibaut stain resistant fabric, art from Jeremy Houghton and coffee table from Tom Faulkner.

Photograph of the new extension looking towards the kitchen and dining area, with the wood burner and concrete hearth adjacent

This intimate fireplace moment brings texture, contrast, and tradition together in one elegantly understated vignette. A cast iron wood-burning stove sits within a recessed red brick fireplace, its gothic-arched detailing adding a subtle nod to period craftsmanship. Beneath it, a matt patterned tiled hearth adds a layer of visual interest and soft ornamentation, while flanking accessories — including a brushed iron fireplace tool set and a vintage copper log bucket with brass lion-footed legs — reinforce the room’s grounded, timeless character. Above, a large circular white-framed mirror anchors the composition, offering visual symmetry and light reflection while balancing the fireplace’s darker materials. Together, these elements form a central point in the home that feels welcoming, curated, and effortlessly classic.