Breaking away

Novice self-builders, Ben and Anna Humphrey, demolished a semi-detached bungalow to make way for a contemporary detached reverse-level family home

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Bidding for a small, damp bungalow at auction was probably reckless, according to the property's co-owner Ben Humphrey. ‘We knew the council had already refused a previous planning application for two houses on the plot, but we went ahead and bought the property anyway,’ he admits. ‘As first-time builders, we were rather naive and didn't fully understand the issues involved in demolishing the semidetached property and building on a tricky split-level site, otherwise we may have been more wary.’

When Ben and his wife, Anna, decided to leave London to move closer to family in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, they had spotted a small, two-bedroom bungalow on a good-sized plot of land. Their plans were to knock it down and replace it with a detached house. ‘With hindsight, it was risky, as we didn't want to renovate the rundown pebble-dashed bungalow,’ says Ben. ‘But, after renting in London for 10 years, we were excited by the possibility of building our own home and starting a family.’

CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

The couple approached several architectural practices with their ideas, and eventually chose to work with Tye Architects, which is based in Bedfordshire, after admiring house designs on the renowned company's website. ‘The deciding factor was that Nicolas Tye gave us confidence he could design the contemporary house we wanted, which would also gain planning permission on our awkward site,’ says Anna.