The Lewis' Dream Oak Framed House

4 Bedroom Traditional Manor House, Kent

In almost thirty years of living at their family home in Kent, Mel & Pauline Lewis admitted that self-building hadn't crossed their minds, yet the 4 bedroom traditional oak framed house they've built to replace their original home looks like the result of years of dreaming. With exposed oak framework and oak furnishings throughout the house, the light and airy oak framed atrium, kitchen, lounge and pool room make it a very attractive, well planned house.

Mel and Pauline moved to this private road as a young couple, attracted to the secluded nature of the location, easy commute into London and the large leafy plot. "The dormer bungalow itself was functional enough, and served us well over the years, but we knew that, dew to its size with only two bedrooms upstairs, it didn't really make enough of the fabulous site and we wanted to do something about it," explains Pauline.

So the couple set about making plans for a substantial renovation of the dormer bungalow, looking at extending, internal remodelling, and making more use of the roof space. As plan after plan really failed to give them the space they wanted, an architect suggested raising the roof line to give them a full second storey. "It certainly would have provided the space that we needed, but something was still wrong - the design just didn't look good," says Pauline. It was then that a wise structural engineer friend gave the plans a fresh look. "He explained how, with the amount of renovation work we would be undertaking, we weren't really leaving much of the original house in place," she continues. "He argued that stretching the existing house was always going to be difficult from a building point of view, and that building from scratch would allow us to get the house we had always dreamed of."

At about this time and still unsure of such significant project, Mel took a life - changing drive home from work. Little did Mel realise but he was travelling down a lane where Oakwrights had already built five houses ranging from a small cottage to an extensive manor house. "I went past a new oak frame house being built, and it just bought everything together for me. I looked fabulous and so full of character for a new home. I drove home picked up Pauline and went back to have another look. We both fell in love with the house and made a note of the dark blue and cream Oakwrights sign with its distinctive logo outside. Within days we'd gone from a loft conversion to a new build. But we'd seen our dream home, and everything else seemed like a compromise thereafter."

With the design of the house the overriding priority, Mel and Pauline involved themselves heavily in the process with an Oakwrights' architect (Oakwrights use designers based in different regions of the country to ensure that they can match the local vernacular and give clients a truly bespoke design tailored to the unique needs of the home owner). "One of the things we really did well was to take a keen interest in the design process," says Mel. So many people rush into the construction element of the project and end up disappointed because they didn't pay enough attention at an early stage. We knew that the end result for us was everything, and so we studied the plans for hours to see how they would best suit our lifestyle. For instance on one of the early drafts, the central hall atrium space, which was one of the things we loved most about Oakwrights homes, was compromised by a large central staircase, which seemed to block out a lot of light. We went back and forth with the plans several times, and every time it got a bit closer to what we wanted. Luckily Oakwrights provided us with a 3D virtual walk through of the scheme, which was a great tool - it really helped us visualise how the house would work."

To every ones surprise planning sailed through - it's a secluded location, with a mix of local house styles - Mel and Pauline then made another wise decision - to bring on board a main contractor to oversee the project on their behalf. "We realised early on that we needed some expert help, and whilst Pauline was able to spend time doing valuable research in order to ensure we achieved the right design features and finishes, we felt the best route for the build would be to put the project in the hands of a professional," explains Mel. "We chose a local firm, Sennoke Construction, who had been recommended, and although up to this point they had specialised in speculative housing we knew they would be able to run an efficient project and had lots of local quality contacts. Oakwrights regularly link with local quality builders to carry out the general construction work. We also took on Trevor our structural engineer friend, who had a wealth of experience and was able to offer advice on any major technical issues."

So with Mel and Pauline bidding farewell to their family home of 30 years and decamped to a house nearby, work could begin in earnest on demolition. "The main contractor made short work of pulling down the house and replacing it with new footings and a floor slab," says Pauline, who visited the site every day to deal with any issues that might arise. "It was strange at first to see the old house go, but we were so excited at this stage to see real progress and be a step closer to our dream home. "The main contractor got the project to oversite stage and then handed things over to Oakwrights, who delivered and erected the traditional oak frame post and beam structure. "It took several weeks for the team to get the whole thing up, but we soon began to get a very real sense of the craftsmanship and effort that goes into a house of this style," says Mel. "Our main contractor then recommenced control of the site, bringing in his own subcontractors along the way."

It wasn't all plain sailing, though. "One of the main difficulties with the project was that by having both main contractor and package company on board, it was occasionally difficult to get someone to take full responsibility," explains Mel. "There were quite a few grey areas, and because we relied on the experts, we sometimes felt a little bit in the middle. These weren't significant problems, but minor issues that crop up on any project. It also perhaps helped that we paid very close attention when assessing the details, because to us they were extremely important. It was perhaps just a little different to what a contractor who specialises in houses for other people, and not a specific client, is used to." It's not too difficult to imagine — the difference between a standard even upscale developer house and a crafted oak frame home like this is huge. In all cases Oakwrights and the main contractor worked together to gain the best result possible.

"We agonised over a lot of the design details," explains Mel. "The key area of the whole house for us is the central double-height dining hall atrium space. We knew that it would be centre point of the house and we wanted it to be light and open. The design really emphasises the huge cathedral-style windows that would face you as you walked into the space, but the problem we saw was that a ‘traditional' balustrading, with ornate spindles and a heavy handrail, would take away from the openness that we wanted to achieve. We eventually decided to opt for handrail-free large sheets of toughened glass, which are obviously perfect for contemporary homes but, we feel, do the job brilliantly in this one too."

The agonising certainly paid off. Refreshingly, this is a beautifully designed house with a real sense of craft but it's also very much a home built around the kind of lifestyle that Pauline and Mel have always wanted. "It suits our style and it has added so much to our life," says Pauline. Not least of all thanks to the luxurious indoor pool (heated by one of two ground-source heat pumps that serve the property) and Mel's basement (a precast concrete basement seemed good common sense as the original house had its own basement space) hideaway, which houses a large games, football-watching and wine-drinking retreat.

"One of the other big concerns for us was the size of the house," continues Pauline. "We knew that at 650m2 it was going feel significantly bigger than our previous house (it is in fact 50% bigger), but we wanted to make sure that it still felt manageable and like a home, rather than a show home. In this respect it's one of the main reasons we loved the Oakwrights style — the post and beam oak structure enables you to have a relatively open plan flow between spaces but also some structure to it all. We've managed to get the best of both worlds, I think, and have combined this with up-to-date technology by adding a multimedia system throughout. It is obviously a large house with plenty of accommodation - there's a guest wing and large living areas and bedrooms - but it certainly feels like a living house that's designed with people, not show, in mind."

Mel and Pauline are the first to admit that they were in a relatively lucky position from a financial point of view. "We obviously saved a lot of money by not having to buy a plot, which in this area would have made the project well beyond our means. We knew that we didn't want to compromise and that, within reason, we could have the design and features that we wanted."

And this is certainly a home without compromise. It meshes the inherent charm and character of a beautiful oak frame with a modern approach — this is a light, open and, most importantly, informal, welcoming home. There's very little fuss but plenty of depth, and this is, after all, a dream home — one that matches a modern lifestyle with a perfectly executed design.