EDITOR’S LETTER
In this issue we’re celebrating the end of the year by revealing the best individual homes of 2019: the winners of the Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards.
Home of theyear, our award for the overall winner, goes to Richard and Tavia Vint and their contemporary-style selfbuild in Surrey, delivered for a budget of £1,500/m2. On first glance, this new family home appears pleasingly simple, but on closer inspection the meticulous attention to detail that underpins its success becomes evident. “It’s often the case that the simpler something appears, the more thought has gone into to achieving it, and the more detail is hidden away,” says owner Richard, who is incredibly humble about the couple’s achievements. turn to page 40 to read the full story behind the Vints’ build.
Unravelling the complexities behind ‘simple’ design features is a theme that you’ll find running throughout our Design & Materials section this month, too. Often we scroll through Pinterest and flick through magazines, picking out ideas we’d love to include in our own projects. More often than not these images help to shape our plans and bring focus to our ambition.
However, what these images don’t convey is the detailed work that goes into creating key design features. Step in architects Jeff Kahane and Allan Corfield, who delve ‘behind the design’ to explain both the practical and cost implications. this month they explain how to get skirting right (page 127) and how to create an amazing staircase (page 109), respectively.
And in The Build section, we’re not afraid to cover those less-than-glamorous but essential areas of taking on a building project — including health and safety (page 179), and how to dispose of the vast piles of waste that tend to accumulate when taking on a building project (page 155).
Finally, if you’re looking forward to celebrating Christmas in your newly renovated or built home, then firstly, congratulations. Secondly, we’d love to see your completed project entered into our 2020 awards, launching in spring.
‘‘ The simpler something appears, the more thought has gone into achieving it