CASE STUDY SMALL WONDER
In just six months, Max Tillings and Katie Roach built their bijou coach house on an awkward infill plot, using reclaimed materials to complement the neighbouring Victorian property
TEXT DEBBIE JEFFERY IMAGES MAX TILLINGS & KATIE ROACH F
ew people would have looked twice at the small piece of land where Max Tillings and his partner, Katie Roach, recently built their new home. The couple already owned the courtyard to the rear of an apartment building in Westgate-on-Sea, north-east Kent, which had previously been used as a musicians’ benevolent home.
“My parents were landlords, so I grew up learning about property and tackling all sorts of building projects,” Max explains. “When we first bought St Cecilia’s House it was in a shocking state of repair, but we loved its history and set about renovating and converting the building while maintaining the original facade and features.”
“It was a massive project to create eight luxury seaside homes, which we still own and rent out,” continues Max, who has been a landlord for almost 30 years. “We thought the rear courtyard might make a communal garden for residents, but they weren’t particularly enthusiastic, as they wondered who would maintain the space.” The couple decided instead to develop the land as a one-bedroom home for themselves, with garaging below for their two vintage Rolls Royce Phantom cars, which Max inherited from his father. “Katie is also very hands-on and practical, so we knew that building our own home would be a true self-build project,” says Max. “We certainly don’t mind rolling up our sleeves.”
The house had originally been built as a residence for a racing driver, so it seemed fitting to design their new home as a coach house, with his and hers double garages beneath a one-bedroom apartment, accessed by an external staircase.
LAYOUT
The first-floor open plan living/dining/kitchen faces south through glazed doors, with a large rooflight inset into the sloping ceiling. Beside this, a double bedroom also benefits from a rooflight and glazed doors opening onto a Juliet balcony, with a shower room tucked to the rear of the floorplan.
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www.sbhonline.co.uk EXTERIOR
Built on a compact courtyard infill plot, the coach house was carefully designed to complement the existing building and provide
garaging with a one-bedroom apartment above
LOW POINT
“We found some decorative clover-leaf tiles for the external walls, and when these were accidentally omitted some of the new walls needed to be taken down and rebuilt” – Max Tillings
An ornate and highly decorative brick chimney is a scaled-down version of those on the main house
“We sketched out a design ourselves, and then asked a local architect we’ve used before to produce workable plans,” explains Katie. “This was always going to be our home, so we were involved in every decision from the start.” The new property is attached to the back of the main house, while being completely self- contained, and was devised to avoid blocking the outlook from existing windows.
nov/dec 2020
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