A UK COUPLE have swapped a basic bungalow for gravity-defying state-of-the-art home for their retirement.
Pennie and Charles Denton, both aged in their 70s, bought the dilapidated property for less than £400,000 ($A661,000) in 2013 and hired architects to design a retirement home with a difference, reports The Sun.
The finished result. Picture: Strom ArchitectsSource:Supplied
They came up with an exciting design that makes the most of the views and varying levels in the sloping site, hiding the couple’s car underneath the “floating” section of the property.
The former three-bed bungalow on the site near Swanage, Dorset, was believed to have been built in 1917 and was a prefab building which had become quite rundown.
The only thing missing is the team from Grand Designs. Picture: Strom ArchitectsSource:Supplied
Mr Denton, a retired BBC TV producer and executive and his author wife, spent about £750,000 ($A1.3 million) on a 14-month transformation.
Architect Magnus Ström helped create the design, which works by having the concrete roof and floor joined together by internal walls.
Inside the home. Picture: Strom ArchitectsSource:Supplied
The new house, called The Quest, is still all on one level with a large open-plan kitchen,dining and living room, three bedrooms, a dressing room, entrance and utility room and two studies.
The cantilevered section extends about 6.5 metres out beyond the retaining wall and the gap underneath that section to park is about 2.4 metres high and means they can enjoy views across Durlston Country Park without a car getting in the way.
The flat-roofed property has now been short-listed for several design awards.
Not surprisingly the house is up for a number of awards. Picture: Strom ArchitectsSource:Supplied
Emma Ward-Lambert, from Ström Architects of Lymington, Hants., said: “The old bungalow was in quite a state and there wasn’t much they could do in terms of restoring it.
“There’s also a counterweight on the end on the ground, a bit like putting an adult on a seesaw, which helps weigh it down.
“The owners were really chuffed. One of the things they have found since living there is the difference it makes to have space you can disappear off to and not getting that feeling of cabin fever.
“After 40 years of marriage they said commissioning the house was the best decision they ever made.”
The story was originally published on The Sun and is republished with permission.
House makeover – Pennie and Charles Denton spent £750,000 transforming their UK home. Picture: Strom ArchitectsSource:Supplied
