From 1970s Brick House to Beautiful Oak Framed Home

"Nobody wanted to buy this house when it came onto the market because it was so unattractive: the estate agent had trouble getting viewers through the front door. But though it was ugly from the front, the rear of the house overlooks six acres of its own land. That was the true selling point," says Jeff Streule of his family's home.

Jeff and Fiona determined to purchase the five bedroom detached property, which they planned to completely remodel. "We had run out of projects to do on our previous house, so this seemed like the ideal chance to take on a challenge and remain living in the same village," explains Fiona. "Jeff's a chartered surveyor, and he quickly realised the possibilities of such a large plot, so we decided almost overnight to go for it."

Originally constructed 200 years ago as a modest cottage, the property had been tripled in size in the 1970s with a poorly designed extension of mismatched bricks and cheap interlocking concrete roof tiles. An attached garage had also been erected and an entrance porch added, so that the end result was a complete hotchpotch.

"By the time we bought it, the house was a fairly decent-sized family home, but architecturally it was disastrous," Jeff recalls. "Everything had been done as cheaply as possible and the join between old and new was very noticeable. We'd never tackled anything on this scale before, and took a bit of a punt buying a house without any planning permission to extend but it was so obviously a building that needed drastic surgery and the neighbours were more than happy with our ideas."

The Streules and their children - Emily and Lucy - moved into their new home and began the slow process of disguising the unattractive building. Daughter number three, Isabella, was born shortly after the move, which helped to ensure that work often ground to a complete standstill and spanned several years.

Virtually everything about the original house has changed, and the couple admit that it would probably have been easier to build from scratch; but they also acknowledge that the interesting layout, quirky features and unusual room shapes would never have been created from a blank sheet of paper.

"We combined the kitchen and living room, and extended out to the rear in blockwork to make a large open plan space where we spend most of our time," says Fiona of the impressive kitchen/dining/family room. The old garage was replaced with a single storey oak framed sitting room with a vaulted roof, and the master bedroom upstairs has also been extended outwards in green oak and now opens onto a balcony.

Leaving the green oak framing exposed externally has endowed the previously bland structure with instant character, and the timbers have mellowed to a silver grey which perfectly complements the new yellow-ochre coloured render. Jeff and Fiona approached several specialist companies about supplying and erecting their oak frames, but only TJ Crump Oakwrights were willing to work with an existing building in this way.

"Their designer drew up fresh plans and suggested some radical changes which we absolutely loved," says Jeff, who had originally planned to build most of the extensions in blockwork, but later changed his mind to incorporate more oak framing. The house had two squat gables with low-pitched roofs, and altering the position of the ridges to make these slightly asymmetrical has made the rear of the building far more attractive.

This major alteration meant cutting a complete new roof frame - which sits on top of the original structure - and involved erecting a protective temporary canopy over the entire house. Handmade clay roof tiles complete the transformation, and a variety of different window styles have been incorporated to create the effect of an older building which has evolved slowly over time.

"The windows are probably my favourite feature," states Jeff. "I was keen that the house wouldn't look as if it had come straight off an architect's drawing board, so there are several different styles including some with steel casements, and double glazed units with leaded lights set in oak frames."

The Streules remained living in the house while building work continued around them, employing local tradesmen and undertaking a great deal of DIY. "So there was no escape from the mess," Fiona says.

"Then we realised that, rather than simply extending the electrics and central heating into the new parts, we would have to rewire and re-plumb the entire house and install underfloor heating throughout the ground floor and in our bedroom and en suite."

Things got so bad that the family eventually decamped to rented accommodation for six months, with Jeff working full-time on the house alongside the subcontractors to try and move things along.

Once the interiors were more habitable the Streules were able to move back in and complete the remaining work, including redecorating every room. The kitchen proved to be a particular success and is definitely the heart of the house, with only a single supporting column dividing this large open plan space. Cotswold limestone flooring has been laid over underfloor heating and large patio doors open onto the rear garden, creating a light-filled interior.

"Redesigning the house took much longer than we first anticipated, but it also gave us the opportunity to spread the cost over a few years. Apart from the foundations, some external walls and a few roof timbers it's effectively a brand new building, and just goes to show that with some imagination, high-quality materials and a lot of hard work you really can make a silk purse out of a sows ear."

Further reading:

• A 1970s Home Remodelled
• Renovating a 1970s House
• An Eco Friendly New England Style Home