After dreaming about building their own house for more than 20 years, Chris and Christina Hughes have created a spectacular timber frame abode in rural Kent

WORDS AND PHOTOS KATY DONALDSON

FACT FILE

NAMES Chris & Christina Hughes

OCCUPATIONS Company director & housewife. Christina worked in education before & during the build

LOCATION Kent

TYPE OF BUILD Self build

STYLE Barn-style

CONSTRUCTION METHOD Timber frame

PROJECT ROUTE Potton house design. Chris split management responsibilities between himself and main builder

PLOT SIZE 1.4 acres

LAND COST £480,000 (incl. services)

BOUGHT 2015

HOUSE SIZE 436m2 (incl. 96m2 garage)

PROJECT COST £510,000

PROJECT COST PER M2 £1,170

TOTAL COST £990,000

VAT RECLAIM £25,000

BUILDING WORK COMMENCED November 2015

BUILDING WORK TOOK 36 weeks

CURRENT VALUE 1,500,000

Chris and Christina Hughes had wanted to build their own home for over 20 years. their dream of creating a house from scratch began back in 1997 when Chris bought a book by Rosalind Renshaw, who was the editor of Build It at the time. Th us began a journey which has now come full circle. the couple had made several visits to the Potton show centre in St. Neots over the years, as well as attending plenty of shows like Build It Live and poring over various magazines. However, they were waiting for the right time – and more importantly, the right plot – to come along. Even though they hadn’t secured a plot yet, in autumn 2014, they were in a situation for their self build adventure to begin. the pair sold their home in Buckinghamshire, put all their belongings into storage and moved into a rental property nearby. “We wanted to be in a position to be able to move quickly if and when we found the ideal site,” says Chris.

”Mutual support is key. Both Christina and I were passionate about creating a new home “

The large kitchen-diner is filled with natural light thanks to expansive glazing in this space

Handleless kitchen units infuse the space with a sleek, stylish appeal

Spreading the net wide

The pair gave themselves a huge area in which to hunt for a suitable plot but were particularly drawn to the beautiful villages in Kent. In early 2015 they saw a small, old wooden house on a large site. Advertised on Rightmove, the property was situated just outside a picturesque village. It came with the advantage of having planning consent in place for the demolition of the existing dwelling, with a proposal to replace it with a large, Neo-Georgian-style house. Chris and Christina immediately fell in love with the plot and spent six agonizing months negotiating to purchase it. With no immediate neighbours, yet still within walking distance of the village and all its amenities, the location was particularly special. The site was flat and its perimeter was fringed with mature hedging and trees. It came with a large pond, good access and consent already in place to build a 418m2 house. Another advantage was the fact that the dwelling could be positioned right at the centre of the land and be enveloped by garden on all sides.