Clive and Jeanne had always wanted to build their own home. They also wanted to stay in the village they have lived in for so long.
With available sites limited, they began to investigate the possibility of building in their garden. With the help of Chalk they realised their garden had the potential to provide everything they wanted in their new home.
However, even after a prolonged period of consultation with the local authority, planning permission was refused. This presented them with two options, find another site, or challenge the local authority’s decision. Fortunately, Clive and Jeanne had faith in the design, and the decision was overturned on appeal.
The resulting house is a 3 bedroom, low energy home built using super insulated masonry cavity walls. The detailed design was optimised to reduce thermal bridging and to keep the building air tight.
The entrance colonnade of douglas fir twin-columns leads to the bespoke front door. On entering the house you are presented with a linear view through a 4m high frameless window into the rear garden and orchard beyond. This axis connects the open plan kitchen, dining and living space with a wood burning stove at its heart providing Clive and Jeanne with the impressive entertaining space they desired.
A full height storage wall has been incorporated to de-clutter the rest of the house. The guest rooms are located on the ground floor of the black box with the master suite above. This impressive room features a sloping ceiling and large picture window to make the most of the views over the orchard to the rear.
If you’ve always dreamt of building your own home but want to keep living in the same village, you can wait for years for a suitable site to become available (if ever), or you can think laterally. Our clients’ lightbulb moment was when they realised that they could build in the garden of their old home. Chalk was appointed to design the new home but a difficult planning process ensued. In the end the client won on appeal and building could begin.
The home is an eye-catching but understated design inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian houses. Its central structure is a black box that houses the bedrooms and is clad in charred timber, a feature that hardens and preserves the wood. The main living spaces are wrapped around this box, with exposed Douglas fir fascias that will weather as the building ages. Extensive two-tiered flat roofs are planted with wildflowers to help the house blend in with its garden setting.
Open plan living extends seamlessly around the kitchen, an important feature for the clients who love to entertain. Larch cladding reaches to the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room. The airy living room has a 4m high ceiling and full height windows looking out on the garden. High level clerestory glazing allows light deep into the home. The large master bedroom has a wide window seat that makes that most of the views over the orchard beyond.
Other features include rain chains, a turntable in the driveway and very high levels of insulation. At 50% better than building regulations, these have led to minimal running costs.
"We have no hesitation in recommending Chalk. Having lived in our present house for 39 years we felt the time was right to downsize, but where to? Answer the back garden! Having only owned 2 houses in 40 years of marriage we had no idea about how you go about designing and building a new house all we knew was that we wanted a bespoke modern house, a complete change to our present house which was built in 1915.
Chalk helped with every aspect design, liaising with local planning officers ,guiding us through an appeal when the local council rejected our plans and liaising with the builder.
They visited the sight regularly and we had monthly meetings with them and the builder. Chalk checked all the finances thus taking the pressure and stress off us. We are delighted with our new house as hopefully they are”
Clive & Jeanne (Clients)
