This 18th-century mill keeper’s cottage in Norfolk has undergone a radical renovation.

ACME architects revived the red brick cottage – which sits next to a Grade II-listed windmill – and added a contemporary extension that unfolds like a shadow behind it.

‘By adding a dark volume to the existing brick volume and by virtue of the chosen facade geometry, the exact shape of the extension volume seems ambiguous from afar,’ says the practice.

Interiors continue the wood theme, with pale timber walls and dark wooden floors contrasting the red brick and charred timber exterior. Oversized windows in the double-height living room offer views of the adjacent windmill.

Completed in 2010, the Norfolk property is now available to rent via The Modern House from £1,600 per week, and can accommodate up to nine people. Four bedrooms fill the upper level, and each has views over the surrounding marshes.

The Mill House sits within Norfolk’s Broads National Park which is the UK’s largest protected wetland area – a haven for birds and wildlife. The windmill also comes with provenance: it was recently restored by one of the country’s last remaining millwrights.

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