The Lake House, a self-built eco-retreat in Sussex, has ample grounds for entertaining and even has its own helipad
Dreaming of having a great house is one thing, but those with real ambition dream of a great house with land. And boy, has this house got land. With 21 acres, this self-built five bedroom country home in the village of Plaistow in West Sussex is a fisherman’s dream.
It has a three-acre rainbow trout lake with a jetty – fully stocked and ready for angling – a wild flower meadow, an ancient bluebell woodland and a private tennis court. There’s even room for a paddock if you feel inclined towards the equine.
Yet, when owner Tim Virdee bought the site in 2002, there was just a small bungalow, some overgrown blackberry bushes and an orchard that hadn’t been tended to for 30 years.
So he spent years re-landscaping, planting trees and even scouted out some old survey maps of the area from 100 years ago to return it to its natural state. Restoring the lake alone took a year, with five people working on it every day, and it took approximately three million cubic gallons of water to fill it up again.
Helicopter at The Lake House
“Now, it’s an entirely self-dependent eco-system,” says Virdee, a sales marketing consultant. “We haven’t just got rainbow trout, we have tadpoles and frogs, and we’ve got lots of wildlife in the form of ducks and geese. We get the occasional kingfisher, too.”
And it can all be admired from the terraces of this five bedroom house, which was built anew in 2006. Original plans for a traditional country house fell through after things didn’t work out with the architect, so Virdee started looking elsewhere for inspiration. He found it at Huf Haus, a company that manufactures pre-fabricated homes in its factory in Germany to a fixed budget, then oversees the construction.
The entire building was tailored to suit the Virdee family’s needs – there’s even a helicopter hangar and a personal helipad with rare unrestricted use. “We literally picked out every handle, the finish of each door, the shape and size of the balconies, the angle of the roof and the roof tiles,” says Virdee.
Now there’s 5,591sqft of contemporary comfort, including unique design features like the vaulted roof and a glass balustrade that runs the length of the wraparound balconies. All the bedrooms are doubles with an ensuite, and the master bedroom in particular boasts a bespoke Morphosis Alpha Jacuzzi and walk-through shower.
“We literally picked out every handle, the finish of each door, the shape and size of the balconies, the angle of the roof and the roof tiles”
There’s a further 4,800sqft to be found in the surrounding buildings, comprising a workshop, triple bay garage, barn and wine cellar. There’s even a self-contained summer house that can be used as a studio or staff quarters with its own sunken patio. And all this was built in four months.
This is partly due to the offsite build, says Virdee, but has a lot to do with the efficiency of the construction workers, too. “We had people while the structure work was going on that had driven all the way from Germany to be there at six o’clock in the morning.
“And they were never late. We had it started in the middle of the summer and they worked until it got dark. These guys would literally eat their lunch as they were working, a spanner in one hand and a sandwich in the other.”
Living area and kitchen
When they were finished, the house was also kitted out with impressive home tech, such as fully automated lighting, heating and external blinds and fully-networked CAT7 cabling that makes sure every room in the house is connected to the integral internet and sound system.
The house doesn’t rely on any fossil fuels to run, either, due to its geothermal heating system that takes cold water from the lake, runs it through 1.3km of piping and exchanges heated water into the taps. It also heats the flooring throughout the house.
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“It breathes and generates heat extremely well, and I think in terms of future generations, if everyone built a house like this, using renewable materials and bringing the outside inside, it’d make a big difference,” says Virdee. “I’m mindful of things being energy efficient, which includes having a good house structure that’s efficient, having a low carbon footprint and not using too much electricity.”
But it’s not all about serious sustainability – the house is also great for entertaining. Virdee often hosts up to 30 people for barbecues and parties, and also has a home cinema and fully-equipped music room with a bar for jamming with friends.
With his daughter off at medical school, he’s now looking for something more manageable a little closer to his son’s school. “Maybe I’ll build another house,” he says. “But for someone else, this house is a paradise.”
The Lake House is £4.5m. Call Grantley Sales and Lettings on 01483 407620 or email enquiries@grantley.net