Accentuated by the warm bamboo wood flooring, which unifies all the open plan ground floor spaces, the kitchen and dining zones flow smoothly into the visually impressive lounge area. This spectacular space retains the full height of the original church, with its steeply pitched roof providing around 10 metres (33 feet) of head room. A stunning slip cast porcelain pendant light feature accentuates the drama of this space.
The unmissable highlights of this space are the two tall stained glass windows by the renowned Victorian artist, Charles Eamer Kempe. They commemorate Sir George Barclay Bruce’s wife, Lady Helen Norah, and his daughter, Annie Louisa. These masterpieces are showcased by two enormous Passivhaus internal windows, which were the very largest units the specialist manufacturer in Austria could build. Centrally above and between the Kempe windows is a substantial recessed rose window. As the main wall in the lounge faces West, the evening sunlight streaming through the stained glass creates a memorable and subtle visual effect.
Needless to say, the lounge zone at Warksburn Old Church offers ample seating for six people on three comfortable sofas, encouraging actual good old-fashioned lounging. So it’s all about relaxation at ground level, whilst the ceiling far above invites a little contemplation too. Here, the super-insulated quintuple-glazed roof windows might offer a glimpse of the stars on a clear night. There is a very low level of light pollution in this deeply rural location, and the boundary of Northumberland’s Dark Skies Park closely adjoins the property. So, when the stained glass fades out after the sun goes down, why not dim the lights and just look up?
Infotainment and connectivity
Whilst the lounge offers a serene and calming space in which to relax and unwind, modern comms technology is of course built in, providing a wealth of infotainment options. The centrepiece is a 55-inch 4K Ultra-HD OLED TV with high speed ethernet connecting to Gigabit internet. This set up provides all the usual TV channels, plus their streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, ITVPlayer, More4, etc. A number of other streaming players are also installed, which can be accessed by entering your own credentials on the log-in screens for the various services.
Using the WOC Guest WiFi network and/or Bluetooth, Apple devices can mirror video directly to the TV, and many Android devices can ‘cast’ content to the screen (although compatibility for specific devices cannot be guaranteed).
The Dolby Atmos soundbar connected to the screen can also be used to play music from your device. There are no close neighbours, so you can really crank up the volume if you like.
A documentary about the Passivhaus conversion project is available to view on the infotainment system, if you would like to know more about the Warksburn Old Church project and the cutting-edge technology and building techniques which went in to it.
A WiFi 6 mesh network is provided, with visually discrete routers providing 100% coverage throughout the property. To access WiFi, simply select WOC Guest from the list of available networks on your device. All routers are hard wired to an ultrafast Gigabit (1,000 MB/s) Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) connection, bringing best-in-the-UK internet access speeds to this very rural location. This not only allows for ‘no limits’ streaming and gaming, but it is also enables realtime control of the suite of smart technologies which give Warksburn Old Church its astounding energy efficiency.
The lounge area features mood lighting control. You can subdue the lighting in the lounge for a cinema evening, for instance, or turn it up bright when you’re getting your day going with a coffee in the morning.
Board games, playing cards and a selection of books can be founds in the various drawers of the coffee table and TV unit.