April 13, 2026 | DESIGN & INTERIORS

RURAL LUXURY, REDEFINED

words Onur Basturk

photos Sean Knott 

Denton Reserve is a 2,500-acre estate on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, offering immersive, design-led rural luxury rooted in nature recovery, restoration, and reconnection. At its heart is The Hall — a Grade I listed Georgian home reimagined as a contemporary sanctuary for exclusive hire, alongside a growing collection of retreats including farmhouses, barns, and coach houses. 

Originally designed by John Carr in 1778, The Hall has now been restored and reinterpreted by the London-based studio BOX 9. Once an ornate wedding venue, it has been quietly transformed into a place of renewal — where craftsmanship, conservation, and material innovation meet. From cork-clad walls and recycled concrete basins to art commissions celebrating collaboration and locality, every element was chosen with intent.

Far beyond a restoration, The Hall is a meditation on restraint and regeneration — an invitation to reconnect with land, nature, and self through design that is both radical and deeply human.

OUR DESIGN APPROACH WAS RİGOROUS — ONLY WHAT HAD A POSITIVE IMPACT COULD ENTER THE HALL 

The Hall represents a complete departure from the traditional country house aesthetic. What was the starting point for this bold approach?

The client’s mission was to restore the land’s health and biodiversity across the estate. They first approached us about our BERTS cabins for the walled garden, but once we understood the scale of their ambition, it was clear our architectural practice and cabin business were perfectly aligned. Their goal was for Denton Reserve to become a carbon-sequestering estate; ours, to restore its buildings with natural materials and sustainable construction — redefining rural luxury and reimagining what a country estate could be. 

The Hall, a magnificent John Carr building set within a breathtaking landscape, offered an extraordinary opportunity and an equally great responsibility. We’re deeply grateful to be the custodians of this new chapter, guided by the principle of creating something that endures and inspires positive change.

LETTING THE BUILDING BREATHE

You’ve spoken about “emptying the building so it could breathe again.” How did this philosophy guide your process, especially when working with such a historically significant structure?

Our first impression of the Hall was one of noise and inherited opulence. It felt out of step with the current moment. Of course, stately homes like this have long been inaccessible to most people — but now, in the face of a climate crisis and cost-of-living crisis, that excess felt even more jarring. As a practice, we shy away from excess. We constantly ask: does this material, object or gesture need to be here? Does it change how the space feels? If it’s just decoration, and the positive impact isn’t clear, then we’ll often leave it out.

There was such an overwhelming desire to strip the Hall back to its majestic bones and start again. Once we removed the layers, we could reimagine a new chapter — one of quiet, thoughtful, and deeply intentional design. Of course, we couldn’t remove anything protected under the building’s listing, but by stripping back the excess, the architecture could finally breathe again.

DESIGNERS MUST GO BEYOND BEING ‘LESS WASTEFUL’

The choice of materials is striking — from 100% post-consumer plastic and recycled concrete to cork, crushed olive stones, and locally sourced oak. What drew you to these specific material stories?

Our design approach was rigorous. Nothing could enter the Hall unless we believed it would have a positive impact. We asked ourselves: is there a material innovation, or an abundant local resource, that can help restore rather than deplete? Time and again, we were led back to the beauty of nature — especially trees, in all their forms: oak, bark, cork, seeds, needles, and even 100% post-consumer waste paper. We didn’t just want to design beautifully crafted pieces; we wanted to help clean up some of the waste left by the construction industry. That’s why we explored high-waste content concrete and tiles, and found ways to give new life to discarded materials.

We achieved this by working with materials and makers who honour nature — who work reciprocally with what it gives us, without draining it. Designers can’t simply aim to be “less wasteful”; our decisions must go further. They must clean up waste. They must give back. They must have a positive impact. We sought a careful balance between respecting the history of the Hall and embracing the future it now has a duty to help protect.

Collaboration seems central to the project, with names like Jan Hendzel, Ted Jeffries, and Anarchy Art Club involved. How did these creative partnerships shape the outcome?

Our greatest joys come from collaborating with gifted, passionate makers. When those relationships are nurtured and creatives are given respect and freedom, the results are remarkable. It will take many hands to tackle the climate crisis, so collaboration is essential. Beyond that, in a disconnected, screen-led world, the act of creating together — in workshops, in nature — is deeply uplifting. 

LUXURY TO US IS THE PRIVILEGE OF TIME

You often speak of redefining luxury for a new generation — what does “new luxury” mean to you?

Luxury to us is the privilege of time — to have the time and space to do things differently. To create new experiences. To reconnect with nature, with yourself, and with people you love. It’s not about excess. It’s about presence.

How did you envision the guest experience, and how does the design foster connection with the building, the landscape, and one another?

The aim of the Hall was to restore — to bring a calm and connected energy to guests, but also to surprise, excite, and inspire. By creating spaces so deeply connected to the landscape and to the wider nature recovery on the estate, you invite people to look at their impact on the environment differently. If guests fall in love with nature and with craft, they become custodians of the land, extending the restoration project.

DESIGN AS ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

The Hall is positioned as part of Denton Reserve’s wider regenerative vision. Could you tell us more about how this project connects to that larger mission? 

The mission of the Reserve is to allow nature to recover, to sequester carbon, and to tackle the climate crisis. Our design approach is entirely woven into that wider nature recovery mission. We set ourselves an incredibly high bar: nothing was allowed back into the Hall unless it had a positive impact on the planet. Our goal was not only to restore the health of the environment piece by piece and support talented makers aligned with that mission, but also to create a setting that invites nature back in — a place where people could reconnect with, and fall back in love with, the natural world.

Almost every piece returned to the Hall was either inspired by natural forms, made using natural materials, or shaped by the hands of exceptional makers equally committed to restoring balance between people and nature. The design invites quiet reflection. It’s wild and challenging, yet calming and peaceful — encouraging people to consider their own relationship with nature and their impact on the landscape around them.

BEYOND SUSTAINABILITY

Founded in 2007, BOX 9 has developed a design language that is both restrained and radical. How would you describe this philosophy in your own words?

We believe design must now move beyond sustainable — towards regenerative and restorative. Our mission is to help people feel that spaces which restore and have a positive impact on the planet, and on all the people involved in making them, are not only the most beautiful solution — they’re the only viable one.

Almost every decision and object we bring into our designs has a story that draws us in. Whether it’s timber fallen in a storm and reworked into something incredible, ceramics sculpted with intent and texture, or a discarded slab of stone reimagined as a centrepiece table — everything is chosen with purpose. Even the paint on our walls is made from crushed olive stones by a company on a mission to change the industry. Lucy and our team of trusted collectors personally source antiques that complement these stories.

We work with natural, reclaimed, and waste materials, and place equal value on the people and planet that shape and surround our work. Our studio is grounded in collaboration and constant reflection. We actively measure the positive impact of our designs and are always evolving our process.