We were inspired to take on a self-build project because the time was right; our children had flown the nest and we were ready to do something for ourselves. We’ve built a modern house in the Cornish fishing village of Coverack; this in itself has been no mean feat, not because we aren’t builders, we’re graphic designers who self-managed the project with local tradesmen, but the odds of building a contemporary home more at ease from a design concept in Sydney than overlooking the English Channel is quite radical.

The architectural restraints imposed by planning authorities are throttling to design innovation; the traditional vernacular in Cornwall is small windows, a front door in the middle of the house and local granite chucked over the exterior walls. After a couple of harrowing (that’s putting it mildly!) years to actually get planning consent as the land was considered to be outside the village boundary, we stuck to our guns for a modern home, the chief planning officer was fairly open minded, he appreciated good design and was prepared to look forward as long as the building integrated with the environment.

We have many interesting features i.e. we do not use any fossil fuels for heating and hot water, as we have a heat pump gathering warmth geo-thermally below the ground; the pump reverses in summer to provide air cooling. We have used lovely ambient lighting ideas with filters and projected images and have a rounded balcony with ample space for entertaining and just looking out to sea.