Martin and Tracey Cox

I first met Martin & Tracey in October of 2005. Martin had bought a plot of land in Kent with an old 1950’s bungalow on it, which he aimed to knock down so that he could build a new oak framed house. Martin & Tracey had been to one of our open days at Bill & Gill Wades, and decided that they would like to build a traditional style manor house.

[Above] Front of house with brickwork to ground floor and traditional oak frame with infill panels to first floor

I introduced Martin to John Williams, one of our architectural designers, and John then worked with Martin to produce a design that would suit the requirements of Martin and Tracey’s young family.

[Left] Front path and beautifully maintained garden. Note the jetty beam in the top right hand corner of the picture

The planners were not happy with the initial design due to the ridge height, which was for a full two storey house when the original dwelling was a dormer bungalow. John consulted with the planners and adjusted the ridge height of the design and consequently the planning consent was gained. In many ways the reduction in ridge height has resulted in a much more interesting house with the change in levels of the roof line.

[Above] Side view showing double jetty to gable with dragon beams and on the rear, the balcony leading out from the master bedroom and looking up the garden

The build started on site in late 2006 and the Oakwrights frame arrived on site on a cold February morning. Saso and his team put the frame up and then the build progressed towards completion.

[Above] Looking from the rear of the house you can see the single storey wing to the left hand side that contains the family room and kitchen. This area is the real hub of family life. This view really shows the movement and detail of the different levels in the roof construction which really gives this house great interest.

I have kept in touch with Martin and Tracey and I visited them in December of 2009. The build had turned out even better than I had anticipated and it was obvious that it would be a great house to get some professional pictures of. On Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago I met up with one of our photographers to take some evening shots and then we returned on the Friday morning for the full shoot. The pictures that you see here are my snappy snapper shots as I was running around moving furniture and bits and pieces around so that the photographer could get the best pictures.

[Above] While the external look of the house is very traditional, internally there is a real open contemprary feel to the space. Here we can see the sitting area of the family room that is fully glazed down one side and opens onto the patio and outside dining space.

As you can see the main body of the house is a storey and a half with three large bedrooms on the first floor. There is a large vaulted hall way with arch brace trusses sweeping up from a full two storey glazed window that looks out over the rear gardens.

[Left]The central part of the house is fully vaulted with arch braced trusses and gives a dramatic setting for the dining hall. The dining hall is lit by a large contemporary light hanging centrally over the dining table

On the ground floor there is a sitting room, large office, dining entrance hall way, WC, utility room, kitchen and large vaulted family room. The vaulted family room and kitchen are the main focal points of the house and where the family spend most of their time. The family room opens out onto the rear patio so the children can run in from playing in the garden at any time.

[Above] The main sitting room with heavy floor carrying beams and dragon beams above the bay window, Soft lighting gives this room a warm feeling

[Above] With large gardens this avenue of lavender gives a beautiful sight line down to the double storey fullly glazed wall of the entrance hall

There is also a full size basement below the house that has a full suite as a guest bedroom area. Also there is a luxurious home cinema room, gymnasium, children’s play room, a sitting and entertaining area plus a wine cellar.

I will be following up with a full case study on this project soon.