Building Holmes

Mon 28th September

A Remodelled 60s Bungalow
The judges' day starts in Burton Joyce, Notts, with a project in the remodel extension category, and once again the subject is a bland 1960s property in a very desirable leafy road, that has been given a total makeover by a young couple to create a spacious and light-filled, contemporary style family home.
Originally an individually designed bungalow set above a semi basement garage built into the sloping site, the property is now on three levels, with bedrooms on the first floor above the garage, and the main living spaces up in the roofspace, from where they enjoy great views to both front and back via vast triangular shaped walls of glass, created by filling the main front and rear facing gable walls with glazing units.
The design scheme that created this upside down configuration is ingenious: the original low-pitched concrete pantiled roof was removed - this was one of the main features that really looked dated - and a new storey added to create a large, open plan kitchen breakfast room and a family room.
The masterstroke to making this work is the link between the rooms in the roof, and the upper part of the terraced garden, via a raised deck walkway that flies over the lower courtyard terrace below, which is accessed via the main bedrooms.
As well as transforming the building’s form and layout, the original 1970s materials on the roof and walls have been removed or concealed and the building reclothed in the currently highly fashionable self-coloured, off white render with horizontal timber boarding above. The result is a clever makeover that has made the most of the original building and cost considerably less than knocking it down and building a new replacement dwelling.

A Converted Cartshed
It can be very difficult to create any sense of privacy when converting one of a group of farm buildings that all adjoin or interconnect, especially when the land opposite has been sold off for new housing too. Yet the architect owner of the second property of the day, a converted cart shed in a village near Newark in Nottinghamshire, has managed successfully to create a home that feels entirely secluded and insulated from the outside world.
This has been achieved by creating a walled courtyard garden which has been intricately landscaped, providing a beautiful aspect for the principal living spaces which are all open plan, and wrapped around the remaining two sides of the courtyard in an L-shape, completing the garden’s enclosure.
A clever touch is the use of pleached Acer ‘lolipop trees’ planted around the perimeter, extending the height of the wall, creating an extended green barrier that screens off the surrounding properties.
The layout of the main living spaces is open plan, with a large living area opening onto the kitchen in the crook of the ‘L’, and a dining space and second living area beyond that. These rooms all have tall vaulted ceilings and floor to ceiling aluminium framed glazed doors and windows looking out onto the courtyard.
The limestone flooring is at the same level inside and out, so when the two sets of doors are thrown open, the space flows seamlessly between house and garden.
The finish is immaculate: it is one of those houses where it seems that every minute detail has been carefully designed and finessed, from the clean lines of the contemporary style kitchen and bathrooms, to the bedrooms tucked away at the back, reached via a neat, space efficient hallway.
Although there are some expensive details, such as the glazed atrium in the living room, there also some clever budget ideas too.
The kitchen looks like a very expensive piece of German or Italian design, but was actually configured by the owner using units from Ikea, mixed with some one-off components to form the island, plus high quality reconstituted stone worktops and expensive white goods and appliances. It looks like it should have cost three times its actual price tag.
Together with some classic pieces of furniture and some lovely artwork the interiors have an almost Scandinavian feel. This is a beautiful, serene home - a little jewel.

A New Barn Style Home
Sometimes projects in the Value for Money category of this awards scheme have to be judged on their own, and allowance given for the odd compromise on style necessary to bring the project in within strict financial constraints.
This, our third house of the day, needs no such concessions, because despite being completed for just £450/m2 (consider that the most expensive projects in this year’s awards cost from £3-4,000/m2) the design and build quality are both excellent, as are the finishes.
Designed in the style of a traditional timber clad barn, it was built by its owners on a largely DIY basis, so almost the only cost was that of the materials.
Although the owners had no specific building skills before they started, over the two and half years of the build - it was a retirement project - they became master craftsmen, and the standard of workmanship is superior to that of many professionals.
In keeping with the barn conversion theme, the property features a tall glazed threshing door opening in the centre which fills the heart of the house - a generous central hallway with galleried landing, with light.
A nice feature here is a glazed wall created by infilling between timber studs with glazing units, opening up a vista from the hallway, beyond the staircase and into the living room, helping maintain the sense of openness and space.
A traditional farmhouse style kitchen breakfast room is clearly the hub of day-to-day life in the house, large enough to have a living area and overlooking the extensive gardens.
This is a charming rural property that already has great traditional character despite having been completed only this year.