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A house in the treetops: 70s home brings bold design to the heart of Bray
With a roof garden above the trees and the Swan River at the foot of its grounds, this 1970s home makes the most of its town centre site.
FROM BRAY’S MAIN Street, Patchwork is only a short walk away. Yet inside its .27 acre grounds, the town gives way to mature trees, tiered planting and the sound of the Swan River. The setting is a large part of the appeal, but the house has a character all its own.
Designed by architect Lindsay Johnson and built in 1973, Patchwork was featured in The Architects’ Journal in 1977. Its architecture still feels adventurous. Rooms are laid out across four interconnecting levels, windows frame the gardens from different heights and a wrought-iron spiral staircase rises to a book-lined mezzanine. A sympathetic retrofit around ten years ago brought the house up to date while retaining the features that make it distinctive.
The main living and dining spaces share a vaulted ceiling, with a broad chimney stack giving each room its own identity. Three steps lead into the triple-aspect living room, where a cantilevered bay window projects over the garden and a multi-fuel stove provides a focal point. Across the chimney breast, the dining room connects to a 42 m roof garden. Set among the treetops and facing south and west, it offers space for long lunches with a view across the grounds and neighbouring woodland.
The kitchen is designed for everyday use as well as entertaining, with bespoke navy and white cabinetry, quartz worktops and room for a family dining table. A generous utility room sits alongside it. Upstairs, the mezzanine’s floor-to-ceiling shelving makes a ready-made library or workspace.
Across the lower levels, four bedrooms allow family members some separation. The main suite has French doors to a private terrace and the lower garden. Another bedroom is currently used as a TV room. There is also a loft room with its own external entrance, suited to a studio or office.
Outside, the gardens unfold in terraces rather than a single sweep of lawn. Acers, birch and beech sit among flowering shrubs, roses, bulbs and ferns, with secluded places to sit along the way. The river marks the boundary, completing a setting that feels remarkably removed from the centre of Bray.
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