Naples yellow tiled stove, with green looping ornaments (England)

The fire door has foot prints of deer that walk, trot, gallop and jump. Blue-fired iron details. House by Weal Architects.

When we were in the process of designing the new house we were planning to build here in the New Forest National Park we had many discussions with our architect about heating and settled on an air-source heat pump and underfloor heating.

We also wanted to have something in the way of a wood-burning stove to use on chilly evenings and so searched the internet and came across Annika’s website. A long time ago I was a potter and the design and glazes of her stoves are stunning. How could we not fall in love with them?

A lot of correspondence followed and the stove was tailored to the new house and its site here in the New Forest National Park.

The damper was cast by the blacksmith in the form of Fallow deer antlers and the door to the stove was decorated with deer ’slots’ – the hoof prints made by deer.

It took many weeks for the stove to arrive and then Annika and Stig came to stay with us and installed the stove over the course of a week.

It is a dramatic statement in our main room, gives us pleasure to see on a daily basis and casts a warmth which is wonderful.