ROCK SOLID

Neatly poised behind iron gates, this house sits in a pebbled forecourt lined with red oak trees. Lush and leafy in summer, stripped and bare-boned in winter, they diligently stand sentry towards the porch where a robust door marks the very centre of the property’s deeply symmetrical facade. With its series of shuttered, arched windows, there’s a chateau-like sensibility to the picturesque setting. Only a weighty aluminium and timber sculpture-like object hints at the unlikely interiors to follow.

Beyond the entrance, designer Fiona Lynch has worked