“We thought about using something else, but with the angles used in the design, the architect said ‘actually, you might as well go traditional.’” The house is clad in a mixture of yellow brick and zinc – a recommendation of the architect. To the right of the driveway as you enter the property is an old barn, clad in horizontal weatherboarding. The zinc panels have been fixed horizontally as opposed to the usual vertical placement to echo the barn in a contemporary way. The planners were reportedly favourable to the use of zinc for its ability to achieve this aim, despite its modern aesthetic.
The house also features porticos at one end, which again were included to reflect the barn. It was these that proved challenging when deciding what to clad the house in, as Jackie explains: “We were thinking about having a cement fibre tile, but we couldn’t figure out how to do it with the porticos.” The house also has no visible gutters or downpipes – another of the couple’s requirements.
The schedule of the build meant the zinc installation was being done at the height of the hot 2018 summer. “Up here you’re so exposed, and the zinc was fabricated onsite so they were out there getting very hot, they struggled with that,” says Jackie. In addition, some fiddlier elements of the build caused issues, such as the unique shape of the roof, and the shadow gaps that have been included around the house’s
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interior – an idea they got from the home of a friend. “The builders hated doing it, but we really like it!” Jackie says.
The two ‘arms’ of the L-shape are connected by a glass-fronted entrance hall. Off to the right is the large open-plan kitchen/living area, which includes sliding doors out onto the courtyard area. There’s also a utility room at the side of the kitchen. To the left of the entrance hall is a small book room/home office and at the end a TV/music room. “It’s a really nice room, it’s very cosy,” says Jackie. The room features a built-in unit with a sliding glass door that hides the TV, an idea she got from an interior design course that she took. “It was a really good thing to do, because it makes you view how you’re living in different ways.”
Leading from the entrance hall, the stairs follow the walls around three corners up to the first floor. They were built of concrete in order to avoid creaking, and are finished with a slate tile. A gallery-style landing leads to the guest bedroom – which benefits from views of the fields out the back – with ensuite, and the master bedroom which includes a walk-through dressing room and ensuite. The floor-to-ceiling glass in the master bedroom is angled into the apex to make the most of the views out over the land, including the pond.
At the other side of the stairs are a further two double bedrooms – one for each of their
JACKIE’S TOP TIPS
Go through a pre-application stage
Put aside time to be onsite everyday – you need to have a flexible working arrangement (and you can forget about long foreign holidays!). Even if you think you’ve made all the decisions, there are still hundreds to make
Don’t underestimate the importance of cost control advice from a third party
Make sure there’s enough space for materials, storage, vehicles etc.
Ensure the main contractor uses
subcontractors they’ve used before, especially on a bespoke house
may/june 2019
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