Paul Berry and his Swedish partner Pernilla have built a Scandinavian-inspired contemporary family home in Surrey with copious natural light

TEXT Debbie Jeffery IMAGES Jonathan Reid

“We were actually living in New York when we first started our self-build project,” says Paul Berry, who moved from the UK to America with his wife, Pernilla, when she was offered a job there. The couple and their two boys (now aged 14 and 18) bought a rambling old colonial house to renovate in the States, and owned a single-storey bungalow back in Surrey, which they rented out.

“We’ve had experience of extending and renovating several homes,” says Paul, “so when we decided to return to the UK for our sons’ education, the idea of redeveloping the old bungalow was appealing.”

Pernilla is Swedish, and the couple were keen to engage an architect who could deliver a design which would embrace Scandinavian values and architectural cues. At this stage, they were considering adding another storey to the existing bungalow, and contacted Concept Eight Architects in January 2020 while they were still living in New York.

“I used Google and the RIBA website to find an architect,” says Paul. “It was difficult working from abroad, but after researching five potential practices we were impressed by the contemporary designs on Concept Eight’s website. They’re a young, enthusiastic design team who understood exactly what we were looking for.”

Mufajel Chowdhury is the director and founding partner of the award-winning practice, which specialises in residential architecture of all scales. “We always advise our clients not to rush the design stage,” he explains. “Investing time leads to fewer changes during the build, and a much smoother process, with more control from a budget perspective.” 

Paul flew over from America several times to meet with Mufajel prior to the family returning to the UK in the summer of 2020, and the practice produced various potential designs. Some proposed radical modifications to the bungalow, and others involved knocking it down and building a replacement house from scratch.

“We had quite an extensive wish list, which would have been difficult to meet by simply modifying the existing bungalow, and renovating would also have meant paying VAT,” says Paul. “In the end, we concluded that we needed to knock it down and rebuild to get what we really wanted.”

Various iterations followed, resulting in the final design for a detached 320 m² four-bedroom house over two storeys. “We sent our architect a few pictures for inspiration: chalet-style Scandinavian houses with wood cladding, high ceilings, and plenty of glass,” recalls Paul, who also requested a central, glazed atrium, and a grand entrance with a feature staircase.

“I’d slept in a cramped box-room in my teens, and wanted our boys to have large, apartment-style bedrooms, so Mufajel designed raised mezzanine sleeping platforms with steep staircases to free up the space below as study and lounge areas.”

The planners had requested that the new house should stand on the same front and rear boundary lines as the original bungalow, and although the couple had envisaged building further back into the garden, they decided not to contest this decision to avoid holding up the planning process. 

“One of the most important factors is to identify and understand the site, so a detailed appraisal is something that we start with on all projects,” explains architect Mufajel. “Then it’s about how someone feels in our spaces, as much as how the buildings look, and we try to really understand how a family wants to live in the house. 

“This often involves an open plan layout and the use of glass to engage with the garden, looking at the vertical and horizontal circulation, and placing emphasis on flow and light from the moment you enter the house.”

The original design for a glass atrium was slightly adapted to appease neighbours and avoid overlooking, but overall the planning process proved straightforward. “We were designing the house to live in, rather than to resell at a profit, and opening up the atrium did steal potential floor space,” says Paul. “High ceilings, spacious bedrooms, and an open plan layout were more important to us than cramming in multiple tiny rooms, though, and we love the final layout.” 

Once planning approval had been granted, Concept Eight Architects continued to project manage the build and advise throughout the process, providing a list of several potential building contractors. After meeting with them, Paul and Pernilla chose to employ LS Builders. “We got on extremely well, and they had such a positive attitude,” says Paul. “When we saw some of their other projects, which were really top end, we knew they’d do a good job.”

Pernilla, Paul and their sons returned to the UK in 2020, right in the middle of the Covid pandemic, and moved into the old bungalow for eight weeks during the planning phase, sleeping on mattresses on the floor because their furniture was in storage. They then rented a property during the build, initially for a 12
month period. 

The existing bungalow on their plot was demolished in February 2021, and the site cleared. “It was hard to watch our investment being knocked down and realising that all we had left was a garden,” admits Paul.

Beam and block flooring was laid on a combination of the bungalow’s original footings and freshly excavated concrete strip foundations, and Concept Eight Architects oversaw the project in conjunction with the builder, undertaking site visits with Paul every two weeks. 

Louisa O’Rourke, a director at the architectural practice, had taken on the role of lead architect and interior designer once the project design started in earnest. “One of the reasons that Paul and Pernilla appointed us was because we offer both architectural and interior design services in-house, which allows for a much more holistic process,” she explains. “Most of the team – including the main builders, the kitchen, joinery, and glazing suppliers – was assembled by Concept Eight in a one-stop-shop approach to the delivery of the project by a tried and tested wider team.”

Constructed in cavity blockwork, the contemporary house has been externally clad in a palette of render and stained Siberian larch. The roof is of natural slate, with sections of external walling clad in slate tiles.

“Although we didn’t agree a fixed price, we were fortunate that our builders managed to order most items before Covid supply issues occurred and material costs rocketed,” says Paul. “Six months later, and we would probably have paid around 50% more for the build.”

Aluminium slim frame glazing was installed, with UV glass and integrated electric blinds operated by solar power. “Pernilla insisted on triple glazing, and they’re pretty hefty windows,” says Paul. “With so much glass in the design, we had to be careful it didn’t turn into a greenhouse, but actually the house is extremely comfortable and holds a fairly constant temperature all year round.”

Additional frameless glass was supplied by one of the builder’s contacts in Lithuania as a way to save money and remain within budget. The kitchen cut-out window is one huge sheet of glass and was transported to the UK, together with glass panels for the atrium. 

“Everything was manually lifted without cranes, and it took about 10 people using scaffolding to install the heavy glass panels above the dining table, which are around 10 metres up,” says Paul. “I just shut my eyes and hoped for the best, but fortunately everything slotted into place.”

The proposed size of the hallway window to the front elevation was reduced as a means to save money on the build, and the architect designed stylish louvred timber privacy panels for the glass, which may be removed for cleaning. In the hallway, the original plan for a large, four-metre glass roof panel was replaced by three rooflights as a more economical option.

“We needed to watch the budget, and didn’t choose to install integrated technology, although we do have an alarm system with CCTV,” says Paul. “We also have an air source heat pump, which powers the underfloor heating, but was noisier than expected. This was resolved by installing a (costly) soundproof cabinet, and we also have a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system, which provides air-filtered ventilation throughout the house.”

Paul was able to be on site most days and found the interior fit-out to be the most stressful part of the project. “Every time I turned up on site, I got hit with around 30 questions and decisions which needed to be made immediately. There’s only so much you can pre-plan and anticipate, but our builders and architects were extremely accommodating and made some changes as we went along.”

When it came to the interiors, Pernilla and Paul worked with project architect Louisa, who presented the couple with various options for every room. “Once again we had a wish list and wanted a fairly blank canvas to be able to display our artwork,” says Paul. “Being Scandinavian, Pernilla prefers a muted palette of greys and blues, and brighter colours were then added with the art.”

Simple engineered oak flooring was laid over the underfloor heating, and the family looked at hundreds of pictures on Pinterest for interior inspiration. Finding the perfect kitchen cabinets for their home proved challenging, and eventually Paul saw a picture of an American open plan kitchen with wood veneer panelling offset by white stone counters.

Lead architect Louisa then worked with award-winning Espresso Design, who create what have been described by the Sunday Times’ Style magazine as ‘the world’s coolest kitchens.’ 

Designing a kitchen to celebrate the architectural style of the new build property resulted in bespoke furniture in a custom lacquer colour, with grain-matched Rosewood veneer island units, Istone Calcatta worktops, and a Caesarstone Black Tempal floating breakfast bar. “The company produced 3D computer models of the kitchen, and it was exactly what we wanted,” says Paul.

A striking open plan feature staircase was supplied by the builder, and creates a focal point in the heart of the ground floor. Acoustic panelling was installed to dampen noise and prevent the atrium from becoming an echo chamber.

“We needed to get a three month extension on our rental property because Covid meant that our project was inevitably running slightly late,” says Paul. “Once the house was in a habitable state, we did a partial possession in March 2022 and the builders continued to finish off and complete the landscaping.” 

A porous resin driveway has been laid to the front for better drainage, with an outdoor cooking area, barbecue, and seating in the back garden. “We plan to add a pergola and create a covering so that we can use the space in all weathers,” says Paul, who also employed LS Builders to construct a 30 m² stand-alone garden studio/den for his sons and their friends in the rear garden, with sliding glass doors and exterior cladding to match the main house.

“My initial budget guess was way off, and we ended up doubling it,” says Paul of their eventual £1.1m build. “The overall build and bungalow purchase costs just about break-even on today’s house valuation, so we’ve probably not made a huge profit, but that was never our aim. 

“Over the years, we’ve extended and modified various homes, but only now have we really achieved what we wanted. This is exactly how we’d hoped to live and will still be ideal for just the two of us after the boys leave home. To be able to build our own home has been an incredibly creative and collaborative experience.”