Exceptional and stylish eco house on farm site
Fringill Dike House, Darley £2.25m www.carterjonas.co.uk
When Paul and Caron Chapman decided to build a contemporary eco house in a field on their farm in the sought-after village of Darley, near Harrogate, they spared no expense on the project.
It was set to be their own home and the aim, says Paul, was to “build something different, something stylish.”
To that end the couple employed Skipton-based Rural Solutions to help gain planning permission for the property and to design what is, without doubt, an architectural triumph in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
“We had to jump through a lot of hoops to get planning permission and it took us two-and-a-half years to build it,” says Mr Chapman.
The build was carried out by main contractor and project manager Keith Eccleton.
A third of the property is set underground and its dry stone walls are topped with a sedum roof that mimics the contours of the surrounding land.
Heavily insulated, the house is warmed by ground source heat and features a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system and rainwater harvesting.
Rural Solutions say: “The project was designed to blend into the landscape, using local, natural materials to create a beautiful home anchored in nature.”
“Everyone who sees it, loves it and I am proud of it,” says Mr Chapman, who admits that the biggest surprise is that he and he wife have decided to sell the house rather than move in.
“The plan was to sell our farm and move into the eco house but building this property made us realise how much we would miss our land, where we keep horses and chickens.”
The new home is named Fringill Dike after one of the Chapmans’ racehorses, which is trained by Jedd O’Keeffe in Middleham.
The property has over 6,000 square feet of space and is approached via a long driveway leading to a parking and turning area in front of the integral double garaging.
Inside, the house has a 53ft long living kitchen with floor-to-ceiling glazing framing the views beyond.
The property also has a dual aspect living room, study, cloakroom, utility room, storage room, four bedrooms with ensuites and a principal bedroom suite. The lower ground floor has two large rooms, a shower room, sauna, cloakroom and plant room.
The gardens and grounds are in just over one-and-a-half acres and there is a long sun terrace.
The project was designed to blend into the land, using local, natural materials to create a beautiful home.