New build - Art Deco style replacement home

Echo of Deco

This case study is from SelfBuild & Design May 2022 | Buy this issue | Subscribe

Designed with a nod to the Miami Art Deco style, Carole and Chris Hinde’s contemporary new home occupies an enviable clifftop site overlooking the Bristol Channel.

Story: Debbie Jeffery Pictures: Loyn + Co

In Brief

“The house that we bought in Penarth did no justice at all to the location on a cliff overlooking the Bristol Channel," says Carole Hinde. “As a result, our neighbours weren’t too bothered when we applied to replace it with a new build, although I did hear one local describe the house as a 'modern monstrosity’! I think it’s impossible to please everyone, but we’ve tried to respect the setting and build a home which echoes its surroundings.”

The new house is a sensitive, yet modern addition to the prominent clifftop site, positively contributing to the vast range of architectural styles located along the coast, with a nautical feel and a specific reference to Art Deco. 

In October 2015, Carole and her husband, Chris, came from their home in Kent to watch Wales play Fiji in the rugby World Cup. “We actually had no intention of building our own home until we spotted this plot,” says Chris. “We first met at Cardiff University, and Carole used to live in the seaside town of Penarth, so we decided to visit and were walking down the coastal path with our son and his family when we saw a house for sale. It was the view, rather than the house, that was so appealing.”

Penarth is an elegant seaside town with a Victorian pier, Art Deco pavilion, charming esplanade, and modern marina. “We’ve always vaguely had this idea that we wanted to live in an Art Deco house by the sea, but we didn’t want to be very isolated,” says Carole. “Our previous home was a farmhouse in the Kent countryside, which meant driving everywhere, so this was our idyll in terms of location. We decided to relocate and become part of the community.”

The clifftop plot enjoys superb views of the Channel, from the Severn Bridge and along the coast of Somerset. It is bounded to the east by the Wales Coast Path and to the south by a park. On this prominent site was a four-bedroom 1980s house, which had already been extended several times.

“We put in an offer without having even seen inside,” says Chris. “There was far too much plastic, from the cladding to the windows and the leaky conservatory. The layout was inappropriate, with few viewing points, small dark bathrooms and plumbing that wasn't working properly.”

The original house was in the middle of the plot and was difficult to alter.

At first, the couple considered remodelling, but the timber-framed building made a meaningful redesign difficult, and because the property had been empty for a year there were maintenance issues, including a broken sewer pipe providing access to rats.

“We soon realised that it would be difficult to salvage anything because it was poorly constructed and incorrectly positioned on the site. At this stage we visited all the neighbours to ask their opinions and discuss concerns,” Chris continues.

Situated opposite a listed Art Deco building and close to a Conservation Area, first-time selfbuilders Chris and Carole knew they would face challenges in their effort to harness the site’s outstanding views.

A modern house, sympathetic to the Art Deco style, that makes the most of the sea views.

“We asked our architect, Loyn and Co, for a modern house that was sympathetic to the Art Deco style, to make the most of the amazing views to the south and east over the Bristol Channel; they didn’t disappoint, and delivered a stunning design,” says Carole, a retired ocular plastic surgeon who now lectures and writes.

“The original house was positioned in the middle of the site, with a detached garage and parking to the south – not only obstructing the view but taking up the sunniest quarter,” explains architect Chris Loyn. “The key design principle was to relocate the house and garage as far north as we could, to maximise the south-facing garden. As the area is populated with a variety of Art Deco dwellings, we set about designing a contemporary home with a nod to the architectural heritage of the area.”

The kitchen/diner on the ground floor opens onto a sheltered terrace through glass doors. 

Given the potential of the views, the kitchen/diner is located on the ground floor, with direct access to the garden, while the living room is on the first floor, opening onto a large terrace overlooking the sea. These two key spaces complement each other, with the south-facing terraces at each level providing shade and long-distance views, as well as covered outdoor areas.

The south-facing first floor balcony provides a covered outdoor area and shade.

The balcony off the living room upstairs overlooks the sea. 

“The size and orientation of the rooms are exactly right for our lifestyle, which was discussed at the beginning of the design contract, with a large living room and the main bedroom sharing sea views from the first floor,” explains Chris, 68, whose expertise as a mining engineer, with a PhD in rock mechanics, made him eminently suitable to assess the risk of building so close to a cliff edge. Supported by a robust sea wall, the cliff is effectively anchored, although natural erosion will occur over future decades which will reduce the cliff path margin.

In the living room sliding glass doors meet at one corner and open onto a balcony with porcelain tiles that are also used indoors.

Despite the sensitive setting, planning permission was achieved in February 2017, and architect Tim Fry from Loyn and Co then oversaw the build and interior design, guiding the couple’s decisions about lighting and internal fixtures. Following a tender process, local company Scimitar Homes was chosen to undertake the build.

The Harvey Jones kitchen was teamed with Corian worktops, and metro wall tiles.

The existing house was demolished in July 2018, at a cost of £17,000, and work commenced on the concrete strip foundations and other groundworks, with the original garage retained as a site office throughout the project. Constructed from a combination of traditional cavity blockwork, with timber floors and roof, the dwelling benefits from the site’s orientation and aspect through high levels of glazing, with photovoltaic panels concealed at roof level.

“We’re so close to the coast that the planners insisted on marine grade materials, including doors and windows, which blew our original budget,” says Chris. “The builders agreed a fixed contract of £615,000, including a contingency sum.”

Externally, the flat-roofed building is finished in a crisp white render, with aluminium overhangs and decorative privacy fins. The house has a strong horizontal emphasis, with linear slot windows accentuating this and referencing the ribbon windows and balconies which are characteristic of Art Deco buildings.

This main horizontal mass is intersected by a contrasting vertical element which incorporates a dramatic stair and triple-height space to the rear, where generous landings allow pauses to take in views of the sea.

Crafted by a local steel fabricator, the staircase is made from stained oak, with LED light strips and black gel filters often used for theatre lights under each step.

“A highlight on the ground floor is the view as you enter the house, of the spacious entrance hall, beautifully conceived open-plan staircase, and towering vertical window beyond,” says Carole. “Loyn and Co were able to provide privacy for our immediate neighbour to the north, and for those across the road, by restricting access to part of the flat roof, which is used instead for solar panels, and by having only a few opaque vertical windows in the north wall and high-level horizontal windows to the west, which allow the evening light to enter.”

Both house and garden have been designed to be as low maintenance as possible.

Chris and Carole sold their home near Tunbridge Wells and rented for 21 months in Kent during the build. They moved into their new home in September 2019, with external work still ongoing until April 2020, including landscaping and rendering, when the building contract was largely completed.

Positioned upstairs to enjoy the sea views, the living room opens onto a balcony.

“The house is a joy to live in,” says Carole. “It’s well insulated and easy to maintain, with pleasing vistas at almost every turn and plentiful natural light - a valuable commodity in south Wales.

The garden fence has been carefully designed to shield the house from the neighbouring footpath.

“An unexpected pleasure has been the garden perimeter fence, which was carefully designed to shield us from the coastal path, while still allowing light to filter through, and which has received numerous favourable comments.

"The house itself is more Marmite, but fortunately most people love it, and one passer-by even made a model of it from Lego. We feel very lucky to have been able to build our dream home, and to live in such an exceptional seaside setting.”

The Final Word

What was the high point of the project?

The level of privacy achieved inside the house without compromising light or views, with high-level windows looking out to the sky and trees.

…and the low point?

The time taken to render the outside. It was both weather and temperature dependent and was applied in several layers, but the result is fantastic.

Your best buy?

Beautiful marble offcuts which cost next to nothing and were used for bathroom ledges. We also had a neon sign made for the kitchen – DLTBGYD – which stands for our family motto: don’t let the buggers get you down!

Biggest extravagance?

Our glazing, which needed to be upgraded to meet planning conditions for the marine setting, and the Crittall door between the lounge and bedroom.

Any regrets?

We wish we hadn’t economised on the hardwood shadow skirting, indented in the wall, as it looks so sleek in our bathroom. It was part of our value engineering to substitute conventional softwood skirtings elsewhere.

The large bathroom features a free-standing bath and decorative floor tiles.

“We feel very lucky to have been able to build our dream home and to live in such an exceptional setting.”

This case study is from the May 2022 issue of SelfBuild & Design magazine.

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