CASE STUDY


A GREEN GIFT FOR MUM & DAD


Octogenarians Keith and Ann Lewis’ new home was not just a labour of love, but a real family affair, with the couple engaging the services of their son and daughter-in-law to create a self-build that combines barn-inspired architecture with ecology-friendly technology


TEXT JESS UNWIN IMAGES CHRISTOPHER TERRY PHOTOGRAPHY


M


ark and Jess Lewis have succeeded in providing a place for Mark’s elderly parents to live at the bottom of their


garden – but to call it a granny annexe would be a million miles from the truth, and do no justice at all to the remarkable eco-friendly home they’ve helped to create.


That new home caters perfectly to the needs of Keith and Ann Lewis, who are both in their eighties, yet also features a spectacular double- height central space, plus heating and power solutions with impeccable ‘green’ credentials. What’s more, this building is not quite what it seems, with walls erected using structural insulated panels (SIPs) – still not quite a mainstream construction method in the UK – and


38 www.sbhonline.co.uk


clad entirely in brick slips. The house is not really at the bottom of Mark and Jess’s garden either. Instead, it’s in one corner of three acres of land in the Nottinghamshire village of Normanton on Trent. Three acres that include the couple’s own Grade Two-listed 18th century home.


The new 21st-century self-build addition comprises a central block with an open-plan ground oor, where the kitchendining space ows into the double-height main liing area. Here, the north-facing wall is almost entirely glazed, with two sets of French doors and windows above. Striking open-tread oak stairs take you to the mezzanine-style first oor, which sits aboe the


HIGH POINTS


“We sit here sometimes and think how lucky we are – the new house has made such a difference to us. or all of us, finally getting the stairs to the first oor was special. nd the first time youre up on the mezzanine you get a proper sense of what an amazing space has been created here.” – Ann Lewis


mar/apr 2023


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  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76