This is one of the most ambitious homes ever seen on Grand Designs – a scaly, curving house reminiscent of a giant coiled snake in a field. Stephen Tetlow is head of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, wife Elizabeth is a committed horticulturalist. Together they want to build a home that reflects both their passions – one that pushes Stephen’s engineering skills to the limit and embraces Elizabeth’s deep affinity with nature. Taking inspiration from an ammonite shell found on their land in the beautiful Blackdown Hills in Devon, the house spirals onto the landscape over two levels and mixes natural materials with cutting edge technology.
Construction of such a complex curving structure proves a huge challenge and progress is tortuously slow. It doesn’t help that engineering mastermind Stephen is working in London every week, so the pressure is on Elizabeth to project manage on site. They struggle to keep within their original 12 month schedule to move in and when their £600k budget runs short, have to clad the roof in 4600 wooden slats themselves. It’s a huge, gruelling labour of love – but if they pull it off it could be magnificent…
suppliers
Suppliers List
The following list of suppliers is for information purposes only and no representation or endorsement is made by us in respect of these suppliers
Architect | Sadler Brown Architecture | 0191 265 7080 |
Bath/Shower Room Fittings | Devon Bathroom Centre | 01392 823030 |
Builder | Jason Turner Building | 01297 551557 07968 192966 |
Carpenters | Dave Wareham Nick Fox | 07970 644769 07968 345008 |
Carpets & Karndean Tiles | Wells Carpets | 01297 33771 |
Copper Cladding | Zincworks Roofing Ltd | 01837 811606 07737 377615 |
Copper Pendant Light (in Kitchen) | Tom Dixon | 0207 4000 500 |
Electrical Works | Castle Technical Solutions | 01305 257411 |
Floor Boards | Hardie Floor | 0800 068 3103 |
Flower Plaster Cast Tutor | Rachel Dein | 07986 821 559 |
Foam Insulation | Foamseal Ltd | 01798 345400 |
Glazing | Topline | 01460 54443 |
Glulam Frame | Buckland Timber | 01363 891363 |
Greenhouse ETFE | Novum | 01379 640040 |
Heating, Water & Energy | Chelmer Heating | 01245 471111 |
Heat Pump | Kensa | 01392 367080 |
Hedging Plants | Perrie Hale Nursery | 01404 43344 |
Interior Doors | Deuren | 01924 849577 |
Kitchen | Axminster Kitchens | 01297 631134 |
Landscape Architect | Alistair W Baldwin Associates | 01765 640 732 |
Lighting Design | Amos Lighting | 01392 677030 |
Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery | Regavent | 01767 600499 |
Oak Windows | Brendan Wellman | 01460 261141 07887 943220 |
Planning Consultant | Rural Solutions | 01756 796199 |
Plants in Conservatory | Rainbow Plants | 01404 814847 |
Plastering & Rendering | Wayne Pearse | 07971 571028 |
Plumbing | Robert J. Tyers Ltd | 01404 871322 |
Posi-joists | Donaldson Timber Engineering | 01159 306008 |
PV Panels | GBSol | 01443 841811 0800 987 0175 |
Site Archaeologist | AC Archaeology | 01392 882410 |
Staircase & Banisters | Hayman Joinery | 01752 893363 |
Tiles | Topps Tiles | 01392 433633 |
Utility & Larder Units | Ikea | 020 3645 0015 |
Wallpaper (Floral Wallpaper in Entrance) | Woodchip and Magnolia | 01204 856887 |
Wood Floor | Hamiltons | 01603 404080 |
Waterproof Membrane | County Flat Roofing | 01934 417488 |