Jon and Angela Thompson traded their house in the suburbs for a bungalow in rural Kent. The couple will tell their story at a self-build show that arrives in the county next month
When Jon and Angela Thompson left their fivebedroom home in south London for a tired 1970s bungalow at Grafty Green, near Maidstone, a rural lifestyle was top priority.
The bungalow was in a sorry state, having suffered years of neglect. Nor was there any insulation.
While the couple knew they wanted to alter the building radically, they’d never carried out any major structural projects before and were unsure about what options were open to them.
With the help of an architect, they decided to reconfigure the bungalow’s layout and add a dramatic vaulted extension with a semi open-plan layout.
The kitchen and sitting room would both lead out on to a spacious deck running the full width of the back of the property, taking full advantage of the lovely rural views.
The work cost £242,500 and took nine months. The rural position means they are now able to keep alpacas, goats, sheep and a Shetland pony.
Angela is grateful for the friendship of new neighbours.
She says: “They were very supportive and pleased we were going to smarten up the place. Certainly there were no objections.”
Jon and Angela will be telling their tale within the Self-Builders’ Own Stories section of Build It Live, which comes to Kent in February.
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