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SelfBuild & Design Magazine ñ March 2009.

Truly inspirational case studies are featured this month, including the house that won the builder Kevin Ellis the Federation of Master Buildersí Builder of the year award, and when you see what he achieved, youíll see why. We also have a modern angular delight in a Yorkshire regeneration area, and the restored farmhouse belonging to Janet Shearer, the acclaimed artist who has decorated her house with stunning murals.

All these and more are previewed in more detail below, but elsewhere youíll find a new series on iconic houses, starting with American visionary architect Frank Lloyd Wrightsís Fallingwater. We have Bob Moores on the benefits of green oak framing, and the last in Bob Matthewsí series on solar power.

Thereís loads more besides, but hereís a taster of just a few of the delights to be found inside this monthís issue of SelfBuild & Design.

Cover story

California Dreaming

Terry and Emma Huggett have created a little bit of California in a corner of a South Yorkshire regeneration area. The strikingly beautiful angular building is open plan and filled with light and enjoys fantastic views over Mexborough. Designed by Martin Bell at Transform Architects, the house is positioned to enjoy passive solar gain, keeping heat loss at a minimum.

Case studies

Keeping it in the Family

When Mark and Sally Hickling decided to sell off part of their large garden as a building plot they knew exactly who they wanted to have living next-door ñ Markís sister and her family. Mark undertook the project management of the build, creating a basic design that was chunky and contemporary with lots of traditional characteristics. TJ Crump Oakwrights created an oak framed interior with timbers exposed and dramatic living spaces.

The Full Monty

Patrick and Elaine Mulvihillís talented builder has painstakingly extended and remodelled their bland 1960s house to create an award-winning and inspirational family home. Kevin Ellis from Ellis & Hughes designed the extension with a free reign, extending up and out, adding a garden room at the back with folding sliding doors, and a third storey, making provision for a fifth bedroom.

The Art of Illusion

Acclaimed artist Janet Shearer (above) harnessed her creative talents to renovate and remodel an 18th century farmhouse in a relaxing Cornish setting. The walls are adorned with murals designed to fool the eye ñ a window showing a sea view is depicted above the kitchen sink, and a cat by the bath is incredibly lifelike. The property has been slowly remodelled over 22 years, and includes stables, a painting studio and five acres of land.

Special features

Round in Circles

Louise Parkin goes shopping for spiral stairs, and discovers that theyíre a great way to make a stunning sculptural statement. Made of glass, timber, stone or metal, they can save space and add a wow factor to your hallway, or provide access to the loft where a normal staircase simply wouldnít fit.

The Zenit of Design

Housebuilder Potton is launching a new range of self build homes, marketed as affordable, stylish and sustainable. Inspired by the lighthouse, Pottonís ground breaking, award-winning zero carbon home, there are five houses in the range of varying sizes, designed using SIPs and with cutting edge technology.

Hallway to Heaven

Lighting designer Bruce Munro has achieved the very pinnacle of innovation with this stunning lighting scheme. It includes a canopy chandelier which changes shape depending on the angle from which it is viewed, and made of 176 turned acrylic cones. Coloured lights are projected onto it to suit the mood. The scheme also features a grid of blue backlit squares, pictured.

Salvage Savvy

Husband and wife team, Adam Hills and Maria Speake, have developed Retrouvius ñ an architectural salvage and design business which bridges the gap between destruction and construction. They studied architecture together and used to visit demolition sites to raid the skips. Now, they work separately but inter-dependantly.

Chasing the Sun

Fed up with the long English winter? A Domespace home canít guarantee sunshine, but it can rotate to follow the rays all day long. Originating from France, the unusual eco-friendly homes are growing in popularity with more than 100 such houses built across the globe.

Fallingwater

In the first of a regular series on iconic homes, we look at Fallingwater, the most famous work by visionary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufman Sr, and built between 1935 and 1937 in Pennsylvania, Fallingwater is perched on a cliff directly beside a stream and waterfall.

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