groundfLoorrooms
the house features an
upside-downlayout,
withthebedroomson
thegroundfloor.the
children’sbedrooms
arein ajackandjill
arrangement, with
bothroomssharing
theensuiteinbetween
(right).“the bedrooms
areexactlythesame
withthesamebuilt-in
wardrobesbutamy and
Chloe designed their
own layout themselves
— they haveputtheir
own stampontheir
rooms,” saysalan.mAkInGchAnGES
AlonGthEwAy
The Browns’ home was stick
built, meaning the timber frame
was constructed on site, allowing
the couple to make changes
during the build. “Building every
panel on site means you can then
make changes as you go along —
for example, window positions,
doorpositionsandelectrical
positioning,”beginsAlan.
“We made quite a few changes
during the build, which has added
to the success of the building.
It’s only possible to get the real
impression of the positioning and
views from many of the windows
by standing on the site as the
building progresses,” he says.
“Originally we designed
the whole upstairs area as
completely open plan; there was
no separating wall in the middle.
However, when we put the
mechanical ventilation with heat
recovery system in we needed
to house the workings of it. So
we then had this idea that we
would like a two-sided fireplace
between the kitchen and dining/
lounge area. So during the build
we created the partition wall,
which has two uses: to split up the
kitchen and dining/lounge area
but also to house the mechanics
of the building.
“We also extended the kitchen
during the build. We thought
‘let’s make a hidden door with
the same material used in the
kitchen’. So we got a standard
door and glued the material to it.
Behind the door we created a loft
space and a WC and also a walk-
in larder. This was tohave been a
walkway originally.”