An ultra-modern house with views of the Malvern Hills

In the property world, we know it’s all about location, so Carolyn and Sean found the perfect spot – just look at that view! – and then set about designing the dream home to inhabit it

In 2015, Carolyn and her husband Sean spotted a neglected chalet bungalow for sale just outside Cheltenham. So, they posted a note through the door expressing interest – and a year later they were handed the keys!

The ultra-modern house, with the cantilevered part to the right. The two terraces each measure 20m by 4m, and the house runs on electricity as there is no mains gas in this area (Image: Heather Gunn) ‘It hadn’t been occupied for two years,’ says Carolyn who, with Sean, runs their own business. ‘It was falling apart and damp, so the only thing to do was knock it down. Buying it was more about the location than anything else as it was high up looking towards the Malvern hills.’

The couple, who have two children – Harry and Lola – wanted to build a house to their own design. ‘We thought it would take about a year from start to finish, but we were quite wrong!’

It in fact took a good three years just to even start the build, and then another 18 months before they could move in.

Mandarin Stone porcelain tiles form the flooring in the hall, and crittal doors were put in to create a vestibule beyond the front door (Image: Heather Gunn) Carolyn had drawn up an idea of what she wanted, and the architect produced a five-bedroom, two-storey, very contemporary house which suited everyone.

‘The main problem was that the architect – who was brilliant – had designed something that was way over budget,’ says Carolyn. ‘But it would have cost even more to redesign it to get the costs down. So, we had to wait until we could raise the money.’

Further delays were caused by the structural engineers, who had a big backlog.

The kitchen is fitted with Harvey Jones units and bar stools. The table, which extends to seat 12, is from Oak Furniture Land, while the chairs are from Wishbone. The light fittings are from Tom Dixon (Image: Heather Gunn)

‘The project was complicated, too, as we are on the side of a hill, so it needed a lot of piling. One side of the house was to be cantilevered, which pushed up the costs considerably and, because the design-to-build stage took so long, a different structural engineer (from the same practice) took over. He made changes halfway through which proved even more expensive.’

Luckily, planning permission was fairly straightforward.

‘As we work from home, one bedroom is an office with external stairs,’ she says. ‘But it’s designed in such a way it could be transformed into a granny annexe with its own bathroom, separated by a pocket door.’

The Pompey paint on the TV wall is from the Little Greene Paint Co. The curtain fabric was spotted in a French hotel so they found the source (Image: Heather Gunn) The house is constructed of breeze blocks faced with Portland stone on the ground floor and a timber frame above.

At the start of those three years of delays, the family plus dogs Margo and Rocky moved into the bungalow.

‘We gritted our teeth and decided we could bear it for a year,’ says Carolyn. ‘So, we stripped it, put in a cheap kitchen and whitewashed the walls. We put down cheap office carpeting – but three years on we couldn’t wait to move out!’

The builder's carpenter built the cupboards in the main bedroom, and the blue curtains are from Bella Interiors. 'I like things to be simple and calm' says Carolyn (Image: Heather Gunn) During those years they rescued the garden, so saving themselves thousands of pounds.

‘It was full of brambles as no-one had touched it for ten years. We also had to build up the ground at the far end as it had collapsed into the field at the bottom.

‘The ground worker who had put in all our drainage knew someone who could build the gabion walls. This was quite a job, but once they were in and the garden was filled with earth and rubble, we did the rest. Sean sowed the grass from seed during lockdown and we started stocking the borders with a white theme, although some blue irises add a splash of colour in May and June.’

One of the cantilevered rooms. The bed is from Feather & Black, and Stiffkey Blue from Farrow & Ball is on the panelling. The wallpaper is also from F&B (Image: Heather Gunn) The four-poster bedroom, which is for guests (Image: Heather Gunn) When the time came for the bungalow to be demolished, the family rented a small place nearby.

‘To stay within budget (apart from the usual extra ten per cent) we didn’t make any changes once the build had started,’ says Carolyn.

Once the shell was built, she took over the design to save money.

‘We don’t have mains gas, so to help with the electricity costs we fitted an air source heat pump which works really well. We also have solar panels and storage batteries, and now have underfloor heating both upstairs and downstairs.

One of the two bathrooms, which are fitted out with Travis Perkins sanitary ware (Image: Heather Gunn) ‘Then I chose and organised the electrics, the plumbing, the flooring and the carpentry.’

To make the most of the sweeping views, the windows take up most of the west-facing walls and are designed to slide into each other for access to the two large terraces, down and up.

‘We love the house, but not sure why there aren’t more glass walls in Harry’s bedroom and the office as they also share our wonderful views.

‘In fact, it was the views which made us want to buy the plot. We originally lived not far away and loved this location, so it made sense to move here when the opportunity arose.’

Carolyn with dachshund Rocky on the landing (Image: Heather Gunn) ADDRESS BOOK