Calluna
Location: Aldeburgh, Suffolk, UK
Client: Private
Structural Engineer: JP Chick & Partners
Landscape Design: Luke Heydon Gardens
Interior Design: Michele Barker
Building Contractor: James Norman Builder
Photographs by
William Pitt
©The Modern House
Existing House and Context
Calluna lies along the Suffolk coastal landscape, close to beautiful stretches of beach, north of Aldeburgh. RSPB North Warren is to the east of the house, and Hazlewood Marshes are to the west.
The North Warren estate is dominated by large one and two-storey, detached houses, set within large plots. All were built at the same time, and several properties have had various scales of redevelopment since they were originally constructed.
The existing plot comprised a single-storey, detached house with an integrated garage, set within a mature garden that gently slopes up away from the house on the south-facing garden.
The house sits in the centre of the plot, and has remained little changed since being originally built in the 1970’s.
The site entrance is to the north of the house, which leads to a large forecourt that can accommodate several vehicles.
The house is constructed of load-bearing brickwork with a painted render finish. The pitched roofs are finished in concrete tiles with two flat-roofed areas over the central entrance and garage.
The integrated garage sat on the western side of the main house and opened to the rear garden via a single-leaf back door.
Transformation of 1970’s modernism
Our brief was to refurbish the existing house and convert the existing double garage into the Main Bedroom, forming a separate western wing to the main house. To create this, the existing external, covered link corridor was enclosed with a glazed wall to create a hallway link to the garage conversion.
Important to the project was the retention of the original charm and modernist qualities of the 1970’s house, which was achieved by working alongside the clients and Interior Designer, Michele Barker.
The existing double garage spaces were too narrow to fit a modern car and were being used by the previous owner as overspill storage for the main house. Its conversion to form the Main Bedroom with an adjoining en-suite is accommodated within the existing footprint, linked back to the house by enclosing the existing canopy to form a new corridor from the main living area.
New openings were formed within the existing Garage block to serve the new bedroom space, with a new glazing system installed to the new and existing openings throughout to maintain a consistent fenestration to the whole house.
As part of the refurbishment works, the existing flat roof coverings and insulation were upgraded to meet current building regulations.
The original central entrance was retained and carefully refurbished, which included a bright glazed porch and a large timber-framed window. Throughout, an authentic feel has been preserved; period features remain in situ, including teak thresholds in all the doors.
The existing well-proportioned bedrooms to the east of the entrance were mainly retained as original. To the west of the entrance are the primary living spaces, subtly delineated from one another. A long window in the sitting room frames garden views, and a new log-burning stove provides an offset focal point to both the Living and adjoining Dining Space. A rich material palette has been used here, with new parquet floors and Ketley bricks.
Behind is the kitchen, which has cork floors and plywood cabinetry. Lime-green countertops provide a pop of colour.
A new paved dining terrace was created between the Living Room and the converted Master Bedroom, which continues into a new planting and terraced landscape designed by Luke Heydon Gardens.
