Building sustainably

When influencer Claire (@thatcotswoldclaire) set about designing her family’s dream home, sustainability was at the heart of the project.

‘I think being set in the Cotswolds, which is an area of outstanding natural beauty, made it even more important to us that our house felt like it had always been here,’ Claire explains. ‘But with a twist of contemporary vision as well.’

‘It's a home that we want to raise our children in. We want to grow old in it. So we wanted something that would be timeless. We are not into buying things that are used once and thrown away. It’s important that things will stand the test of time, get better with age and bed into our surroundings.’

We asked Claire to share the learnings of her family’s self-build journey, as well as her advice to anyone else looking to tread the same path…lightly, of course.

Watch the video or read on to find out more.

Getting the big stuff right

‘When you're planning the details, you're always thinking about that fabric-first approach. And by that, I mean the core of the house. We really beefed up our insulation, and we've got an airtight seal throughout so that we're going to use minimal energy to heat our home.

‘We've got big glazing, so we're making the most of any solar gain that Britain may or may not have, and all the time we were thinking about making sure our house was going to stand the test of time.’

Sourcing locally

‘We chose British red cedar rather than going for wood cladding that’s been imported. We've sourced a lot of products and materials locally, like our limestone flooring, that’ll last a lifetime and won't need to be replaced. 

‘We've used a lot of local suppliers, too. Corston’s not far away from us, and we liked the timeless ethos. We like how the sockets and switches are quite traditional but have a modern take that suit the look and feel we're trying to bring into our home.

‘We've used bronze fittings throughout for the sockets and the toggle switches and we've also got some of the spotlights and some beautiful pendants from their new range.’

Fancy a go?

‘If you're looking to embark on a sustainable self-build, I think it's really important that you think about the fabric of your build. It's very tempting to think about the parts of the house that you're going to see, but if you don't get what's inside your walls correct, then you're not going to be sustainable.

‘So, pay attention to beefing up your insulation, think about air tightness, air source heat pumps, that sort of thing. And again, like us, source locally, recycle where you can, and make sure you're as sympathetic to your environment as possible.’