A unique lakeside retreat

This beautiful two-bedroom floating retreat takes full advantage of its stunning location, where guests become part of the landscape.

Our clients desired a memorable space for their guests to enjoy by their wonderfully clear lake at their Cotswolds retreat.

Surrounded by natural beauty, we interpreted our client’s vision for a special space that would provide an intimate connection with their environment.

A contemporary rustic experience

For our client, the look and feel of the space were both of equal importance. Materials were chosen that would be a pleasure to see and touch. To reflect the natural beauty of the surroundings, reclaimed wood was used in the build to create a rich palette of colours and textures. To make this work visually, we assembled the boards as we would in the creation of a piece of art – placing, selecting and rejecting boards until we arrived at an arrangement with an aesthetic unity. Creating a tale of connection and transformation in collaboration with design studio Retrouvius.

We crafted a worktop from walnut that had complete chain of custody, so we could tell our client the exact location where the tree was felled. This was important to them, which is why we also left the identification tags from the trees on the timber we used. We also rebuilt and incorporated our client’s sourced items into the interior design.

A space without borders

Rather than hiding them away, we designed the retreat to connect our clients with the natural environment. Without handrails or a barrier at the edge, a boat can be brought alongside the retreat for a seamless transition between the beauty of the lake and the comfort of the space. Opening the floor-to-ceiling glass doors removes the only barrier between the inside and the outside. From the deck, our clients can soak up the sunshine, watch the trout jumping, or dive off the edge for a refreshing swim. The wood burning stove provides enough heat to be able to keep the doors open in winter, allowing our clients to indulge all year round.

Because the lake is landlocked surrounded by woodland, our expertise was essential to the successful build, transportation, and installation of this retreat.

Our bespoke approach enabled us to create solutions to best suit our client.

We designed the retreat with a remote waste removal system. This novel approach allows waste removal to be remote from the immediate service. Tanks onboard are connected to a remote bollard ashore that is operated with a keyed switch. The onboard pumps remove all waste into a bowser which is then taken away to a drainage location.

This guest retreat provides a very intimate connection with its beautiful surroundings. Our clients are thrilled with this uniquely relaxing space, and, despite intending it for their guests, they now enjoy it themselves as a retreat from their own retreat!

“This is the first time I’ve felt relaxed in 24 years!” - client 

Tell us about your project   020 8123 8962 mike@ecopavilions.com