Planning Permission was granted in 2020 following an appeal for this new 4,650sqft (432sqm) home designed to reflect the vernacular architecture of the nearby homes. The house sits behind a dense screen of Tree Preservation Order protected planting and includes steep roofs, gable ends, timber lintels, roughcast render, clay tiles roofs and tall, decorative chimney stack. Stepped quoins to the front gable elevation, brick slip details in the apex of the gable roofs, black window cills, black painted timber bracketed window hoods and black fascias against white soffits all add to the high quality attention to detail coupled with the carefully thought through proportions to the elevations and room sizes.

The house is highly energy efficient with an EPC Rating of A (93) acheived by the use of a well-insulated timber frame, air-source heat pump, underfloor heating, whole house mechanical ventilation incorporating heat recovery and solar panels with a battery back-up system and immersion heater booster for when the batteries are full. The house also includes a 22kW fast electric car charger to take full advantage of the solar panels.

The property has a traditional yet contemporary feel, designed and built to offer classically proportioned
rooms, with a layout perfectly designed for modern family living with neutral crisp interiors. The house is laid out around a spacious double height entrance hall and galleried staircase. Contemporary dark stained oak floors throughout the ground floor are laid over undefloor heating. The dual-aspect formal drawing room, with a central elegant fireplace, sits at the front of the house with a home office to the othersdie of the entrance hall. A large open-plan family living space, dining room and kitchen sit behind the entrance hall and lead through two sets of double doors open to the garden and a second pair of double doors open to a dual-aspect family room.

The kitchen is fitted with bespoke handmade and painted elegant white shaker style cabinetry designed by Charles Yorke and quartz marble worktops and features a large island with breakfast bar seating, which is a perfect spot for a morning coffee, every day dining or for entertaining guests with whilst cooking.

The first and second floor accommodates six bedrooms with the principal bedroom featuring a dressing area and ensuite bathroom.

For examples of other traditional style new homes we have designed please click here.

The first of several new homes to be completed on a large site on the edge of Farnham in Surrey, this new timber frame home scores a high A rating (94) on the EPC due to the use of additional insulation, air source heat pumps, over 3Kw of photovoltaic solar panels coupled with a 6Kwh battery storage and whole house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.

The wrap-around verhanda to the south and west elevations provides a simple and traditional solution that ensures that overheating due to solar gains in summer months is eliminated as it protects the large french doors and windows to the ground floor living spaces. The verhanda also provides a covered porch area to the front entrance and a sheltered area to the garden terrace.

Soft coloured Dove Grey painted timber cladding blends with the natural slate roofing with lead hip and ridge rolls but is accented by the white framing to the windows, corner posts, verhanda supports and gable fascias.

Internally, the ground floor includes a large open plan kitchen, dining and family space, a seperate reception room, study and a ground floor bedroom with ensuite facilities.

The first floor includes four generous double bedrooms, two further ensuites and a large family bathroom.

Click here to see more of our timber frame homes.

Timberframe by Merronbrook.

Bespoke hand made kitchen from Charles Yorke Kitchens.

A small back garden site access off a cul-de-sac meant that a timber frame solution allowed for quick construction of the main superstructure and minimised deliveries to site.

The footprint is similar to the existing bungalow, which had previous permission for a couple of former windows to the roof. The site is elevated above the road and benefits from wide views over the countryside to the south, looking over the top of buildings further down the slope.

The narrow access road and limited space on site, coupled with the clients’ desire to create an energy efficient and cost effective building, meant a timber frame solution was the natural choice.

The traditional design features two simple rectangular plans, intersecting and slide over each other. These are roofed with traditional forms of steep pitched gable ended roofs. The majority of the building is to be timber clad with the main entrance elevation having a stone facing, echoed partially on the rear elevation, helps reinforce the two different plan elements. Likewise, the roofs are a combination of both natural slate and standing seam zinc to differentiate between the two forms.

Works are expected to start on site in early autumn 2020.

For examples of some of our other timber frame homes please click here.

An application was submitted to extend the original dwelling using Permitted Development Rights, i.e. without the need for further planning permission, by adding a large side extension, two separate rear extensions and alterations to increase the roof space. The resulting extant approvals would have allowed the house to be increased to over 413sq.m footprint and a width of nearly 30m.

The proposed replacement dwelling was smaller than the extant permissions in terms of footprint, gross external area, volume, width and depth and as such created “very special circumstances” which allowed the planning officer to accept this increase over the existing house.

The proposed new dwelling has been designed on the Principals of Vastu, an ancient Indian architectural proportioning and well-being system while maintaining a traditional rural architecture including steep gabled roofs, timber cladding and a veranda surround the property on all four sides.

A 9×9 grid, a completely square footprint based on proportional measurements, a large two-storey central atrium with clear lines of sight through critical parts of the building, coupled with rules defining everything from chakra points, stair positions, toilet orientation, bed directions, percentages of window to wall opening (different on different parts of the building), incoming services positions etc etc have meant careful planning and a host of decisions which have resulted in a clear floor plan.

The position of the house on the site is of equal importance in considering the Principals of Vastu. The house is orientated true north-south, has to avoid water points within certain site lines, has a Vastu ‘fence’ perimeter set at a distance reflecting the proportioning system of the house, and with clear views through certain axis of the landscaping.

Built by the owners themselves using a timberframe the use of clay tiles and black horizontal timber cladding give the home a traditional rural building appearance.

Photos to follow!

The building is to be built for private client using the same timberframe system that so many of our latest projects employ to ensure low energy bills, cost effective and quick construction and a comfortable home environment.

The design process has been a real learning curve for us on this project after the client asked for the house to be designed on the Principals of Vastu, an ancient Indian architectural proportioning and well-being system.

A 9×9 grid, completely square footprint, large two-storey central atrium, clear lines of sight through critical parts of the building, rules defining everything from chakra points, stair positions, toilet orientation, bed directions, percentages of window to wall opening (different on different parts of the building!), incoming services positions etc etc have meant careful planning and a host of decisions which have resulted in a clear floor plan.

From a shortlist of eight projects the new house has been awarded “Best Eco House” in the 2018 Build It awards.

Constructed by MBC Timberframe the house is based on Passivhaus principals of high levels of insulation and air-tightness to drive down energy usage while sensitive detailing of overhangs and deep window reveals ensures that solar gains are controlled to the months when they can contribute to comfortable living in the house and eliminated in summer months to avoid overheating.

Adjacent to Thursley Common, the new house has been designed to reflect the style and materials of a traditional gambrel roofed rural barn with black stained horizontal timber cladding and a plain clay tile roof. The overhanging eaves, brick plinth and zinc finish to the rainwater goods all help maintain this rural feel.

For more timber frame homes by BWP Architects please click here.