CASE STUDY BACK TO NATURE


The world of home improvement is nothing new to Athena and Mark, but their latest project renovating a house to help it nestle into a Sussex nature reserve proved a challenge


TEXT ROSEANNE FIELD IMAGES RICHARD CHIVERS F


or some, a major renovation or self-build project is a daunting task – arguably one of the biggest challenges they’ll face. Yet for Athena Hubble and husband Mark, their latest undertaking is the latest in a line of successful projects. Athena’s love for restoring period


properties began when she bought her first house at the age of 19. “I was always tinkering with it, I started taking up floorboards and uncovering things and I got the bug,” she says. “It was just lovely to find stuff and make the most of it.”


Since that first foray Athena has undertaken five further projects. Whenever looking for the next one, she asks herself three questions: “‘do I like the area, has the property got ‘good bones,’ and has it got potential?’ The rest you can make happen, it’s just a matter of time and effort,” she explains.


64 www.sbhonline.co.uk Her latest project is an 1800s cottage in rural


West Sussex that had seen three generations of “horrendous” extensions added in the 1960s, 70s and 90s. It had been owned by an elderly couple and so, explains Athena, “was desperately old and things had been building up over time. The roof was sagging, there was damp in the walls.”


The main attraction for Athena and Mark was the location. Not only was it closer to her family, it also achieved the right balance for the couple. They were moving from a “small property very close to the sea” and “wanted to be in sight of the water but with a little bit more of a rural feel,” she says. The house backs on to Pagham Harbour and is surrounded by a nature reserve.


LIMITATIONS


Although it was appealing, the location also presented a few challenges. Being situated


july/august 2019


ORGANIC MATERIALS The previously white extensions have now been covered with larch cladding


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