The north american cotswold draft

THE NORTH AMERICAN
COTSWOLD STYLE
BY JESSE SAHLANI

THE CREATION
OF A NORTH
AMERICAN
ICON

The creation of the North American Cotwold design style was developed by Jesse through an intuitive urge to create an environment that captured the character of the English Countryside. To achieve this environment, Jesse sought after proportions that captured a quaint, yet grand character, while offering a nod to the cotswolds farmhouses that so beautifully characterized his summer trips through England.

ORIGINS OF THE
DESIGN STYLE

It was during a visit to the village of Castle Combe that Jesse experienced the magic of the 13th-century cottages along the Bybrook River of this historic town. He instantly identified the character and charm this place has as incredibly special, calling it a village that is frozen in time, reflecting the character of utilitarian English design from the Roman era.

He experienced the warmth of the rustic Cotswold limestone rubble, the single-storey proportions that felt so charmingly quaint, and admired how these qualities succeeded the need for grandeur, of which we in North America are always exposed to. The result was the birth of a design style that not only captured this charming character but also reinterpreted it through his own classically restrained design principles that have become something of a signature for Jesse.

His intention was to take this design style, which was typically adopted by the working class for both utility and ease of construction, and adapt it to the needs of the wealthy country home owners. In doing so, his creative instincts conceived a design style that feels rustic, rambling, and sprawling, featuring courtyards, unique corners, and gardens that serve as an extension of the facade, all without feeling like a mansion. The design style is less about grandeur and more about health and wellness in Jesse’s eyes, with proportions that make life feel simple, grounded, and tangible when you are in the presence of such design curation.

DEFINING
DESIGN
PRINCIPLES

PROPORTIONS
THAT FEEL
QUAINT AND
RAMBLING

The design principles that define this unique design style include the use of low and wide proportions, meant to reflect the sprawling composition of country homes past. Jesse has personally found great inspiration in a range of different manors and country homes during his trips over the years to the English Countryside. This design style very specifically reflects Jesse’s most nostalgic feelings. It is often that he will romanticize one memory or specific detail that he found inspiration in, and design a home around it. That is very much how this design style came to be.

A TIMELESSLY
RUSTIC STONE
FACADE

A defining feature of this design style is the use of stone that resembles a rustically laid Cotswolds rubble. The specificity of the blend of stone directly impacts the character of the home. This material selection is an ode to the farmhouses and manors past that so heavily inspired Jesse’s creative process. The stone is meant to be applied to all facades, leaving the only places where it is not present are the window openings Jesse carves out for his floor-to-ceiling window details. The result is that the stone is meant to be appreciated as a texture, capturing the traditional warmth Jesse sought after.

NOBLE
MATERIALS;
THE FABRIC
OF TIMELESS
CHARACTER

The use of noble materials throughout the exterior façade speaks to the idea that these structures are meant to outlive us, just as the structures that inspired this design style did their creators. The use of slate roofing, zinc for exterior drainage details, and natural stone, not man-made stone, are all elements that contribute to the proper execution of this design style's character. These materials only get better with age, growing moss, an ever-changing patina, or even accumulating soot from acid rain over the years.

FOOTPRINT
COMPOSITION
THAT CREATES
COURTYARDS

The creation of a footprint that is so compositionally sprawling that it surrounds spaces with its architectural embrace is a guiding characteristic of this design style. Creating different courtyards fosters an experiential environment that prompts exploration. The result is a feeling of seclusion throughout the grounds that makes every element of the home feel seamlessly connected and highly curated. No matter what window you look through, you see an architecturally significant wing of the home, a garden, or a water feature.

INTERIOR
PROPORTIONS
THAT FEEL GRAND
& SPRAWLING

What you may not fully grasp from these images is just how expansive and grand the proportions of the structure are. The ceilings reach heights of 13 feet on the interior at points, and almost every window spans from floor to ceiling. All of this is made possible by the highly specific proportions Jesse designed to feel low and wide despite their relative scale. However, when you’re standing in front of the structure, it was designed to feel tangible; a feeling created by the single-storey height, which brings the noble materials featured throughout within reach, allowing you to appreciate the nuances of these selections and grounding the home in its surroundings. It’s these same proportions that contribute to the sense that this is more of a wellness retreat than a residence.

DISTINCTIVE
GABLE
PROPORTIONS

The gables are an integral part of the character of the facade, as they each represent a tiny Cotswold cottage being joined together into one sprawling estate. Their proportions are meant to feel grand without losing their warm and inviting traditional touch. It is a signature of Jesse’s to consider the scale of the surroundings as he develops his proportions, as they can be scaled up or down to suit the ideal. They also serve to create dimension, bringing the noble materials they are clad with front and center. Most notably, they impact the composition of the home as well, giving Jesse the opportunity to create alcoves and peninsulas within the footprint that makes the room feel as if it is set among the gardens.

A REAR FACADE
DESIGNED TO FEEL
CONNECTED TO ITS
SURROUNDINGS

When choosing to design under this design vernacular coined by Jesse, he believes that it is integral to the character of the design that. there is consistency throughout the facade. That means that the rear facade should be just as architecturally significant as that of the front, as it serves to characterize the environment experienced when using the backyard amenities. The creattion of a rear courtyard that surrounds you with natural stone, floor to ceiling windows, gardens, and water features is what Jesse would consider a space that creates an experience that you can only achieve is there is a seamless sense of connection between all design elements of a home.

GARAGES THE OFFER A
NOD TO THE STABLES
OF MANORS’ PAST

Jesse believes that a garage is not just a space to store a car, there is a high degree of history behind the relationship between manors and country homes, and stables that later turned into garages. If there is an opportunity to use the garage to create a separate courtyard, wing, or design element that complements the sprawling character of the design style, then it should be an element that is front and center within the facade. Every garage courtyard is an opportunity to cement the sprawling character of a North American Cotswold home.