Every year we see dozens of amazing homes in the pages of Build It, and we want you to help decide which has been the best of 2015 in the Build It Awards, in association with BuildStore.
The past 12 months have produced some awe-inspiring schemes, showing the breadth of wonderfully individual projects that self builders and renovators create across the UK. It’s been tough for the editorial team to whittle them down to a shortlist for Build It readers to vote on in the Best Self Build or Renovation Project 2015, sponsored by ID Systems. But after some impassioned debates, we’ve settled on six candidates that have wowed each of us for different reasons.
From a heritage-style home snuggled into a tight city plot through to a rural oak frame gem with a build cost that belies its luxury finish, there’s something to inspire everyone on this year’s shortlist.
Now it’s over to you to vote for your favourite and help us crown the year’s Best Self Build or Renovation Project – and to whet your appetite here’s a rundown of each of the contenders in alphabetical order.
Voting has now closed for the 2015 Build It Awards
Sensitive Modern Extension: Tim & Fiona Johnson
Fiona and Tim Johnson’s light-filled home is an exemplary model of how to sympathetically add space and value to a traditional building. Rather than rush into the work, the couple first took the time to learn about how they interacted with the Arts & Crafts house – not to mention save hard after their budget was stretched to the maximum to buy the south London property.
Key features:
Budget-friendly Oak Frame Home: Colin & Pamela Leech
Serial renovators Colin and Pamela Leech had never taken the plunge on a self build – until they were shown an idyllic plot by Welsh Oak Frame, who had completed an extension for Colin in the past. The site had already defeated one couple, who divorced shortly after work started – but not before completing the strip foundations. With the footings in place, Colin and Pamela saw a unique opportunity to get the individual home they wanted at a bargain price: they would submit a revised planning application with a reconfigured layout that would perch on the existing foundations
Key features:
Cantilevered Barn: Alastair & Nicola Pickard
Alastair and Nicola Pickard didn’t let a modest budget get in the way of their dream of creating a unique contemporary home inspired by masterpieces such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which juts out proudly above a waterfall.
Key features:
Contemporary Oak Frame Home: Guy & Julia Seaton
Working with architect Aaron Chetwynd and the team at Oakwrights, Guy and Julia Seaton have created a quintessential self build that sees a heritage-style facade give way to capacious, light-filled living spaces – complete with a characterful contemporary oak frame.
Key features:
Modern Home on a Sloping Site: Martin & Karis Smith
Based on Scandinavian and Californian design principles, Martin and Karis Smith’s luxurious home brings a slice of mid-century modern to north west England. “I felt that the property we built should emulate the ethos of architects I admire, such as John Lautner, Donald Wexler and Albert Frey, who all incorporate glass, clean lines and seamless indoor-outdoor spaces so effectively,” says Martin.
Key features:
Rare London Self Build: Matt & Jo Warnes
With a daughter approaching primary school age and their two-bedroom apartment starting to feel cramped, Matt and Jo Warnes stumbled on an innovative way to navigate the capital’s property market by self building on Matt’s mother’s brownfield plot in south west London.
Key features:
Voting closed on 8th September 2015. The winner of the Best Self Build or Renovation Project 2015, sponsored by IDSystems, will be announced at the Build It Awards ceremony on 24th September 2015.
|
Comments are closed.