Naturally modern

Tavia and Richard Vint have replaced a 1950s bungalow in Surrey with a beautifully understated, well-crafted family home — built for just £1,500/m2

An award-winning contemporary self-build in Surrey, designed for modern family life and built for £1,500/m2

Richard and Tavia Vint’s self-build, nestled on a leafy lane on the fringes of a popular Surrey town, is both a sensitive response to its site and a brilliant family home to boot — what’s more, it was built for just £1,500/m2.

Here, the Vints – whose self-build has been awarded The Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating 2019 ‘Best Contemporary Self-build’ and ‘Home of theyear’ – share their build story and pass on their lessons learned.

Finding ‘the plot’

The starting point for Richard and Tavia’s self-build is a familiar one: it all began with a search for the opportunity to create a long-term family home, designed around their lifestyle. “We looked at everything in all honesty: properties to extend, and to replace, and at building plots. It was quite hard to find ‘the one’,” begins Richard.

After a year-long search, they finally chanced upon a 1950s bungalow, ideally positioned on a quiet lane bordering countryside, but within a 10-minute walk of the local high street and train station. “The bungalow was quite dated; it had the classic avocado bathroom suite, and bright yellow fascias and garage door. However, it had an amazing south-facing garden and was surrounded by mature shrubs — we fell in love with the site,” says Richard.

“Initially we considered adding a first floor and extending the ground floor,” he continues. “But the more we investigated the foundations and evaluated the compromises we’d have to make to achieve what we wanted, the more it became clear that knocking it down and starting again was the best way forward.”

Richard and Tavia, who both specialise in residential architecture, subsequently lived in the bungalow for 18 months, with their son Archie, honing the design for a new home. “We took our time deciding exactly what we wanted to design. Having spent that extra time in the house made us appreciate the site more,” reflects Richard.

Behind the design

The result is a 21st-century home with a timeless aesthetic.this is achieved partly through the house’s form, which takes it cue from nearby barns, but also by the considered palette of materials — the silvering cladding, for instance, helps this new build recede into the surrounding beech and oak trees.the house is orientated to make most of passive solar gain, as well as maximising the views to and connection with the garden — ‘indoor/outdoor living’ was a priority for Richard and for Australian-born Tavia.

Inside, the living/kitchen/dining area stretches the length of the 17m-long rear elevation.the main bedrooms above enjoy those same garden views, while the more utilitarian spaces and the guest suite are positioned on the north, street-facing elevation.

Fortunately, obtaining planning permission for their new home proved “incredibly smooth”. “The lane is characterised by large two-storey homes; it wasn’t out of keeping, which was key,” says Richard. “Utilising a similar footprint and locating the new house in a similar position to the bungalow also helped.”

A build of two halves

The couple hired a main contractor to demolish the bungalow, take on the groundworks and drainage, and build the weathertight shell of their new home. In order to keep to their budget, Richard then took over, project managing the interior fit-out, carrying out some of the work on a DIY basis, too.

“Many elements key to your structural warranty are associated with the construction of the shell; if building the shell is one person’s responsibility, rather than falling to four or five subcontractors, then it makes things much simpler from this perspective. By comparison, there’s a lot less risk involved in the internal fit-out,” says Richard of their decision to split the build in this way.

The new home has been constructed in blockwork, with a beam and block ground floor and Posi-joists supporting the first floor. This construction system lent itself to the brick cladding. “Using a more traditional construction method also gave us the most options when it came to looking for a main contractor,” adds Richard.

Project managing the interior fit-out

Richard took a step back from work in order to manage the second phrase of the build full-time. “Juggling project management with working on site was one of the more challenging aspects of the project,” he admits. “You might have a number of subcontractors on site at the same time, all asking questions because you’re readily available to them, and then you’re trying to finish building various items. On top of that, you’re managing budgets and trying to ensure all the necessary materials are available to allow your subbies to continue their work.

“I was lucky in that Tavia undertook all the detailed design of the kitchens and bathrooms, and

Juggling project management with working on site was one of the more challenging aspects of the project

ordered all the sanitaryware and tiling.that took a lot of pressure off. I concentrated on buying the day-to-day building materials, such as plasterboard.”

Richard took on tasks such as the decorating and helping with the carpentry. “I enjoy making things, but I’d advise anyone to know what their limits are. There were things I didn’t get involved in: the plastering, electrics and plumbing, for instance. Some jobs you can do at a much slower pace, but there are times when you just have to say, ‘that’s a job for a subcontractor who does this task day in, day out’.”

A high-spec home on a budget

The couple admit that their industry experience was a “massive starting point” for their own self-build, and of course they did save on design fees. However, their canny, considered approach holds many lessons for other self-builders hoping to achieve an individual, high-spec home on a tight budget.

For starters, they designed their new home around off-the-shelf items, avoiding the additional expense often associated with commissioning bespoke design features. “The rooflight above the staircase is an ‘off-the-peg’ product, but we’ve detailed it to make it look more bespoke — we lined up the walls in order to cover the frame, so the rooflight looks like a piece of glass floating over the top of the staircase,” explains Richard.

The kitchen is another example; while the walnut veneered unit fronts are bespoke,tavia designed the kitchen around standard-sized carcasses. “We even sized the studwall behind the kitchen to suit standard carcasses.that goes a long way back in the design process, but it saved us money as we didn’t then need to use bespoke-sized units. Often you need to start with the smallest detail and work back. Seeing all these details come together was the most rewarding part of the build.

“Carefully selecting products which are good value and quality – for us that included Velfac windows and Kebony cladding (a modified softwood) – without compromising on the design was also key,” adds Richard.

“What’s more, we had to pick and choose where to spend and where to budget. For instance, we installed underfloor heating on the ground floor, but had to opt for radiators on the first floor to save money.” Elsewhere, the cost of the large-format Carrara marble-effect porcelain tiles, used as a feature wall in the master en suite, was offset by inexpensive white metro tiles specified for the guest suite.

So what do the family think of their new home now they’re happily ensconced within it? “We love it!” enthuses Richard. “We enjoy cooking and socialising and that’s why the open-plan space is perfect for us. Plus, features such as the study nook in this area mean our son can do his homework here rather than going to his bedroom.the house allows us to spend more time together as a family.”

Carefully selecting products you know are good quality and good value, without compromising on the design, was key to achieving our budget

THE STAIRCASE In keeping with the rest of property, the oak-clad staircase is simple but elegant. The rooflight above, which brings in a generous amount of natural light, has been positioned in order to capture views of a nearby beech tree. As a result, different patterns of daylight are cast down the stairs at different times of the day.

ADDRESSING OVERHEATING The glazed doors are recessed 600mm back from the south-facing elevation. “It doesn’t sound like much but this provides shading in the summer, while in the winter, the low sun means sunlight hits the floor and helps keep the house warm. On very hot days, it can get warm inside, but 5m of the 7m span of doors can be opened up, so you get a breeze through the house,” says Richard.

THE LIVING ‘ROOM’ 2.7m-high doors, which operate on tracks recessed into the ceiling, slide into ‘pockets’ within the adjacent walls when not in use. “Because this is a family home, we didn’t want a completely open-plan space; the doors provide flexibility to close off the living room. On cold winter evenings we can also shut them and enjoy the heat from the woodburner,” says Richard.

THE EN SUITE The master en suite (left) features a Lusso Stone freestanding bath and bespoke Corian basins by Cutting Edge.

THE MASTER BEDROOM The blue grey used to create feature walls in the ground floor living space has been continued in the master bedroom (above). The headboard wall panelling was designed and made by the owners, wrapping fabric over wadding on MDF panels. Full-height mirrors are positioned either side, reflecting the garden at the rear of the room. The gold pendants lights are from Idyll Home. THE ‘FRAMELESS’ WINDOWS “We packed out the window reveals to be in line with the window frames, which in turn gives the windows (specified from Velfac) a frameless look — this gives a really clean finish and bespoke look to a standard-sized product,” says Richard.