The home features a spectacular entrance space and a mezzanine level, but also includes heating and power solutions with impeccable green credentials


kitchendining space, and is currently part office, part home gym. With the double-height space stretching to the apex of the roof, it’s abundantly clear the architecture deliberately echoes agricultural barn design. Off the main liing area are two ground oor wings. The west wing contains a small plant room, family bathroom and two bedrooms, one of which is currently being used as a snug. The main (ensuite) bedroom for Keith and Ann is in the smaller east wing, across the hallway from the south-facing main entrance.


t was in  that a plan was first hatched to build a new home for Mark’s parents, who at the time were living in a bungalow in Llanhilleth, a village about 15 miles north of Newport in south Wales.


The key design goals were clear. Ann says: “Besides the space and light we didn’t have at the bungalow, the initial idea was a house with two bedrooms and open-plan living areas all on one level, in case of any future mobility issues we might have.”


Almost all of Ann and Keith’s completed new home, which they moved into in April 2022, is indeed on the ground oor, but how has it come to include the double-height space and mezzanine first oor


Mark explains: “None of us knows what the


future holds. We were building it for my parents, but Jess and I were also wondering if it might be


40 www.sbhonline.co.uk


something we might live in at some point. “We’ve lived in barn conversions before and loved the open space of the double height. Our architect really bought into that idea early on so that design feature is myself, Jess and the architect, while the rest of it is down to my parents. Overall, it’s an amalgamation of all of us really.”


Ann says: “It’s bigger than we originally expected but that’s a bonus and I love it as it is.” She adds: “It’s good to know that when our days are done Mark and Jess have something that will be a sellable asset or that they can live in themselves.” Everyone’s happy with the end result of this self-build proect but getting to the finishing line  finally crossed with Building Regulations sign-off in January this year – was not always straightforward.


The plot the house now sits on was previously partly occupied by two old cottages, which the local planning authority originally wanted Mark and Jess to renovate instead of building something new.


Uninhabited for decades and structurally unsound, the cottages weren’t viable for renovation. The planning authority agreed they could be demolished, but also decided that the SIPs structure of the proposed new build would have to be clad in brick slips.


“That was a major issue for us,” says Mark. mar/apr 2023 LOW POINTS


“Evidence of bats in the old cottages delayed their demolition and resulted in costs of up to £5,000 for various bat surveys. Another headache was the decorating that we did ourselves to save money. The double-height central area was a particular challenge, it’s more than 5 metres high and took us a week using a borrowed builder’s scaffolding tower!” – Mark Lewis


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