During the lockdown of 2020, Anna and David Cross decided to explore opportunities for a new home. Although they loved the property they had lived in for 20 years, the couple, who live with their two grown daughters, wanted a home that would future-proof and suit their needs for retirement.
At this stage, Self-creation Wasn’t on Anna and David’s radar – their search began with a search for a property that suited their needs. Having lived in Surrey for years, they didn’t want to move. “We’re lucky to live in an area with a lot of lovely Victorian and early 20th century housing stock, so we thought we’d buy a property and adapt it,” says Anna.
The couple gave themselves six months to find the ideal opportunity, which disappointingly did not arise. “But our estate agent proposed a 1960s property that was suitable for demolition and a new build on our favorite road,” says Anna.
Project details
- location surrey
- project Separate self-build
- Type of house Arts and crafts style self-build
- The size of the house 587 square meters
- Build costs Approximately £2m
- Architect Roderick James Architects
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Fine tuning in a nutshell
With the opportunity to build a home from scratch, Anna and David – although excited – were somewhat overwhelmed by the choice they faced.
“We are big consumers of Property shows on TV,” says Anna. “We love it almost too much, so I was nervous about bringing in a lot of our favorite architectural styles and ending up with a weird-looking property that draws on a lot of aesthetics.”
The couple’s first move was to make an appointment The iglooA design and build company to manage the project. Anna and David then left Looking for an architect which can help them distill their ideas into a comprehensive plan.
After narrowing his shortlist down to two practices, Cross decided to go with Nick Vardy of Roderick James Architects. “He was the first architect who really understood the key to our brief – that we wanted a family home, not a show home – but a modern farmhouse with large, functional spaces and unfussy grandeur,” says Anna.
Nick worked closely with the couple over several months to help develop their ideas, helping them choose between two of their favorite styles – New England and Arts & Crafts.
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Obtaining planning consent
getting Planning permission It was a lengthy process, as the property’s location on a private estate required Anna and David to jump through a few extra hoops.
“After doing our sketches and working out our design strategy, two applications had to be submitted – one to the district council and the other to the estate’s residents’ association,” explains architect Nick Vardy. “Each organization has its own guidelines of rules and planning policies, so we had to show that we weren’t over-developing the site.”
Roderick James Architects worked closely with the team at Igloo during this phase – as the latter had already developed several homes on the estate, they were familiar with the additional conditions.
To increase the scheme’s chance of success, Cross went through this Pre-application process To gather any additional feedback that could help shape their design before submitting a formal application. Although it took some time, this diligent approach proved successful and the couple received planning consent in March 2022.
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The Dream Team
Once construction began, Igloo took the lead in hiring subcontractors for every job on site. “All the consultants worked together to make sure things progressed without a hitch,” says Nick. “From the landscape specialist to the interior designer, as well as Carpenter’s Oak who provided Oak frameThe entire team worked well to realize Anna and David’s vision.”
This reflection also aligns with Anna and David’s experience of the construction phase. “The whole team was on the same page,” says Anna. “If a problem arose, the focus was on how to fix it—there was no problem that proved insurmountable.”
As they still lived a few streets away in their family home, the couple kept a close eye on the progress and visited the site almost daily.
“When the slab was finished and we walked around the space, we wondered if the rooms would be big enough,” says Anna. “Then, as the house started to emerge from the ground, we were able to see the spaces differently.”
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Udi textured finish
The high level of detail and craftsmanship means construction progress lags behind by six months or more. “We had a lot of internal details that we weren’t willing to compromise on, so it slowed down,” says Anna.
However, it was during the later construction phases that his holistic approach really paid off. “We took a long time on the layout, detailing it – including creating a floorplan with scaled representations of our existing furniture,” says Anna.
This strategy meant that as the build unfolded, the couple didn’t need to make any changes. The resulting home conveys the warm and welcoming feeling Cross desired.
“Downstairs, we use every room every day – we didn’t want any redundant areas,” says Anna. The kitchen in the middle of the ground floor is Anna’s favorite place. “I especially love mine Pantry It’s designed to hide all the mess and mess from cooking to ensure the kitchen always looks gorgeous – it’s a very happy place for me.”
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“This house really suits us – hopefully forever – but it was the full focus for about three years, so it’s nice to have some space now that it’s finished,” she adds. For now, Anna, David and their two daughters can sit back and enjoy the results of their hard work on the project.
“We thought about all the details for so long, so every detail that wasn’t quite right about our old house is no longer there – in our new house, everything is simple and it’s a pleasure to live here.”
For more inspiration, take a look around this modern A barn-style self-build in the Kent countryside or this An expansive West London home designed for family living.
