CREATIVE CONVERSION
How a 1980s East Sussex bungalow was transformed into a dream house with an inside-outside feel
There’s an old adage that you can’t self-build on time, on budget and to a high quality, and that one of the three always has to give. Happily, Eunice Locher and Mark Sewell proved otherwise, converting their bungalow into a house in nine months for £375,000, and to an incredibly high standard.
Returning to the UK after living in Portugal, Eunice and Mark were looking for a plot that would enable them to build an open-plan ‘inside-outside’ home like those they had enjoyed overseas. The first house they saw was a 1980s Scandia Hus bungalow. ‘I stood outside and said, “Not in a million years”,’ says Eunice. ‘It was overgrown and neglected, and the thought of a bungalow at our age was just too much.’ Ten months later, she came back and this time, made it past the gate. ‘It was a light-bulb moment,’ she says. ‘It was rundown, but it was south-facing and right on the edge of the Ashdown Forest. I suddenly realised that this was the one.’
Having secured the property, the couple moved in and hired local architect Adam Penton. They identified the things they wanted to get rid of, including the bungalow’s ‘sauna-style’ pine cladding, boxy layout and clipped views of the surrounding landscape. ‘Our brief was to transform it,’ says Eunice. ‘We wanted something modern that was easy to live in, but beyond that, we left it to him.’
Adam’s scheme connects the original L-shaped floorplan with a triangular open-plan living area that opens on to the south-westerly garden, and includes a first-floor master suite. ‘I immediately loved
the idea of the triangle,’ says Eunice. Adam presented to the planning department an ambitious proposal that included everything they might ever want to do. With just a few tweaks, it went through, so the couple moved into Mark’s garden office, enabling them to stay on site throughout the build.
The extension uses the same timber frame as the original construction, clad with Siberian Larch as a foil to the existing brick. The master suite is also timber framed but clad in zinc. This cantilevered section provides not only an architectural feature that modernises the exterior of the house, but also a balcony where Eunice and Mark enjoy morning coffee.
When it came to furnishings, it was a case of less is more. ‘We were really keen that this house had no clutter,’ says Eunice. ‘We had so much stuff that slimming it down felt like a weight off our shoulders and now we just have the things that really mean something to us.’
The items kept are perfectly placed – a bespoke dining table made by friends of their son, a collection of mid-century furniture from Mark’s brother-in-law, cushions by their daughter and art by friends. The much-reduced pottery collection is now artfully displayed. ‘I love ceramics, and this is the ideal space to display my collection,’ says Eunice, who is founder of The Clay Studio.
Its quality is in no doubt, but how did they bring it in on time and on budget? ‘Finding win-win solutions for everyone was what made it a success,’ says Mark. ‘We also made a point of giving positive feedback to the whole team at the end of every week,’ smiles Eunice. ‘That – and cake!’