Self Build Blog: Designing Our Dream Home

In this series: Follow the journey to a bespoke home in Graven Hill

Before we started the design process we didn’t have a fixed vision of how we wanted our house to look, which I think made it easier. But we did have clear ideas about how we would live in the home and therefore how the internal layout needed to work for us.

We also knew from the outset what materials we’d use, such as charred timber and weathered steel. We think they are both naturally and aesthetically beautiful.

Sitting down with David, our architect at Facit Homes, and watching our house come to life, has been without a doubt the most enjoyable and exciting part of our journey so far.

Seeing an idea that wasn’t much more than a schedule of rooms develop into an actual house that is uniquely ours is exhilarating.

As our self build plot is at Graven Hill, we are working with Plot Passport. This means that we have to follow some basic parameters for the design, as well as getting planning consent within 28 days.

Graven Hill’s Plot Passports offer guidance for a fast-track route to planning

Plot Passports allow a semblance of order and a consistent design narrative to be maintained across the development by defining build zones for the houses within each plot, as well as area and height limits. They also set out an exterior material palette for our street.

So while there is plenty of design freedom for the form, there will be a coherence to how the street looks, rather than a completely random collection of vastly different looking houses.

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