Flower House: A Custom-Built Home

Marc and Laura dreamed of creating a new life outside of London for their growing family. Pioneers at Graven Hill, the UK’s largest custom build site near Bicester, they wanted to build a family home which they had a hand in designing. Inspired to design and build their own home but busy working in London, they had little time to deal with the traditional process of a self build project. A custom build site offered them the simplest and fastest way to find a plot and build their dream house.

“We got to be part of the design team but then left the professionals to crack on and build our house. It was the best of both worlds. The house has exceeded all our expectations.”

Starting with the essential requirements for their home – light, space and open plan living – their preferences naturally aligned with our contemporary style. For the front elevation, we worked to design their home from the inside out and developed a striking sawtooth roof profile that gives drama and height to the interior. It also allowed space for a balcony that runs across the south facing façade for basking in the sun and enjoying views of the eponymous Graven Hill.

Marc and Laura contributed to every decision and hand a hand in creating a house designed and built especially for them and the way they live. They brought lots of fantastic ideas, such as painting the cupboard doors that filled the space under the stairs in chalk paint to create a ‘chalk wall’ for their family to doodle on. From the carefully designed and digitally manufactured birch plywood staircase to the beautiful copper kitchen island worktop, every detail was considered. As standard with a Facit Home, the super-insulated walls, triple glazed windows, airtight building envelope, MVHR and underfloor heating ensure the property requires very little energy to run.

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