Innovative in design and created using traditional building materials, this contemporar y family home sits happily within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
HOME PROFILE
WHO LIVES HERE Teresa and Anthony Ralph, founders of TG Designer Homes (tgdesignerhomes.com), and their children Zachary and Scarlet THE PROPERTY A contemporary single-storey home in Kent
KITCHEN/DINER
This open-plan space is sparse and linear, with bespoke oak units. An island with a built-in bench provides seating for the dining table. Bespoke cabinets, bench and dining table, all 3 Planks Joinery. Dining chairs, Kallevig
KITCHEN/DINER
Under the vaulted ceiling, suspended woven pendant lights delineate separate zones within the open-plan space. Rattan shades over kitchen island, Amazon. Rattan shades over dining table, La Redoute
GLAZED BRIDGE
A glass bridge links the living space to the study, giving a clear view of the knapped flint wall. ‘The bricklayers pointed the flint in the blocks to give the impression that it was a hand-constructed flint wall, and it looks brilliant,’ says Teresa
FIREPLACE
While solar panels and an air-source heat pump provide sustainable energy, the couple opted to have back-up heat from a woodburner. Stovax log burner, Heat Design. Bespoke oak shelving, 3 Planks Joinery
Achance conversation led Teresa and Anthony Ralph to a dream plot in rural Kent within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The couple weren’t looking for a building project and were surprised to find such a lovely site with stunning, far-reaching views, on the edge of a pretty village. ‘We know the area quite well and years ago had stayed at the hotel next door to the plot before it reverted back to a family home,’ Teresa says. ‘A friend told us in passing that the land was up for sale with planning permission and, as we knew the location, we didn’t hesitate.’
Permission had been granted for a Paragraph 79 house. This exemption clause to planning policy allows for innovative designs to be built on land that might not otherwise get permission. But, as Teresa explains: ‘The existing design wasn’t really our cup of tea. We wanted to create something we felt would be more sympathetic to the village setting, that would blend in rather than attract too much attention.’
Discussions with neighbours, the parish council and a planning consultant helped to prevent any unnecessary delays in obtaining consent for their new design. Keen to pay tribute to the traditional building styles of the area, they chose a timber-framed construction and flint blocks. ‘The flint is a direct reflection of the beautiful church opposite the house,’ Teresa observes.
Anthony project-managed the build and hired sub-contractors, b
