THE OPEN PLAN LIVING AREA IN THE CENTRE OF THE HOUSE INCLUDES A WALL OF TOP MOUNTED DOORS
£30,000 for a design which included floating glass treads. Although they loved the design, they could not justify the expense. Rather than give up, they shopped around and eventually found a metalwork company, Strafford Fabrications, who came up with a design which, at £12,000, was less than half the original estimates. “It certainly paid to do our research, rather
than settle for the first thing we saw,” says David. “We had to compromise with the design – we initially asked for a half landing but to keep it level with the wall at the bottom it had to be a step landing, but it was a small price to pay to achieve something we are really pleased with.” The house covers 150 m2
and according to
Eve and David feels ‘even bigger’ because of the free flowing living spaces, ‘airiness’ and large amounts of natural light. Eve and David chose not to have a stove in
favour of more useable space, but the house is kept at a constant all-year-round temperature thanks to its eco-elements. They paid particular attention to detail such as mood lighting created in zones and sockets – well hidden to keep the look streamlined and modern. “The renewable heating and high spec insulation means our home is one of the few EPCA officially rated properties in the UK,” says David. “There couldn’t be a bigger contrast between here and our last house.” And if they were concerned about sacrificing
their coastal views they needn’t have worried – the field to the back of the property changes
Contacts/suppliers
Builder: Springvale Homes
www.springvalehomes.com
Roofing: Metrotile
www.metrotile.co.uk
Windows: Vulcan Commercial Glazing
vulcancommercialglazing.uk
Heat Pump: BCPH
www.bc-ph.co.uk
Garage Doors: Oxley Garage Doors
www.oxleydoors.co.uk
Paving: Cockerill Paving 01262 678 704
Fencing: Red Roof Repairs 01723 890 408
Kitchen: MKM
www.mkmbs.co.uk
Flooring: The Carpet Station 01723 515 995
Stairs: Strafford Fabrications
www.straffordfabrications.co.uk
Upholstery (for headboard): R Tait Upholstery 01723 367 229
with the seasons and from the mezzanine they have wide, open views across countryside. “The key to this place is flexible living,” says
Eve. “Although it is open plan, each living area is well defined. It’s practical as well as sociable.” If there’s one thing they would change about
the design, it would be to have a window in the utility room. “It gets very warm in there and although it
vents into the garage it would have been a bonus to have a window as well,” says Eve. “Unfortunately it would have meant totally changing the layout in that part of the house so we agreed to leave it as it was. It’s been a huge
learning curve but considering the fact that we haven’t built before, we think we got it about right.” David agrees. “It’s a lot tougher than you think
it’s going to be, and you have to be very determined to see it through. Towards the end of the build we were on site every day. We were in the fortunate position of being able to build without the pressure of a specific timescale, and we were also on the same wave- length in terms of what we wanted from the house. We listened to each other, and also to the experts, and always kept an open mind. Consequently we enjoyed the whole process and we are absolutely delighted with the result.”
selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.co.uk
23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60