Commendation for Best House of One or Two Storeys
GOLFERS' REVERIE
Dreamcatcher, Bingham Avenue, Poole, Dorset BH14 8NE
Who would not dream of owning a wonderful modern house like this with a garden backing onto a golf course? Surprisingly, even this dream house may not be everyone's cup of tea, as shown by the current furore in the architectural world about a Grade II listed International Modern house, Greenside, designed in 1937 by Connell Ward & Lucas for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's surgeon, which stood beside the 17th green on the famous West Course at Wentworth until its present owners suddenly demolished it last November, having lived in it for 16 years, sparking a legal row that is still undecided as this report went to press.
No one is thinking of demolishing Dreamcatcher, this sleek house in the heart of the exclusive Lilliput area between Poole Harbour, Canford Cliffs and Branksome Park, with a landscaped garden that backs onto Parkstone golf course, but who knows when a 21st Century Society may be founded to prevent alterations to this and other houses? Dreamcatcher is one of many refreshingly modern houses in the Poole area designed for Seven Developments by Steve Lyne of KL Architects of Bournemouth. Last year, another of their houses, Sunset Strip, won the award in this same category.
When the 1,950-sq-metre site of this house was bought, it had a 1960s bungalow on it, but there were no objections to its demolition and replacement by something more modern, even though it is situated in a conservation area. However, Poole borough council's planners did insist that the new building should be mainly single storey. Not another bungalow; nor even a chalet bungalow - what dreadful images these words conjure up! - but a single-storey house with a discreet glazed gable, which lets light into the first-floor study area that overlooks the double-height kitchen and is reached by a custom-made turquoise powder-coated spiral staircase.
To compensate for any lack of height, it was decided to make the building as wide as possible, adding some dramatic features to the front and rear elevations and making the doors and windows oversized. So the doors were increased from the standard 2.1 metres to 2.7 metres in height and from 900 mm to 1200 mm in width. External doors and windows are made of turquoise powder-coated aluminium, with green-tinted Pilkington K glass. The main entrance gates and the garage roller door are electrically operated, as are the internal sliding glass doors from the open-plan living area to the family room and all the curtains and blinds.
Kitchen and bathroom fittings are of the highest quality, as one would expect from a house that cost £1.45 million. The kitchen has Rational fitted units with Corian worktops and built-in Gaggenau appliances. All three bathrooms and the cloakroom in this four-bedroom house have Villeroy & Boch sanitaryware, with Porcelanosa wall and floor tiles. Bedroom units and those in the walk-in dressing room to the master bedroom are by Hulsta. The living room has an inset fireplace made of stone with a stainless-steel surround. All the rooms in the house have flat-screen TVs and there is a built-in Panasonic sound system. All this and a famous golf course on your doorstep, where Peter Alliss was the club professional for 13 years.
Homebuilder: SEVEN DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
Joshua's Vista, 202 Sandbanks Road, Lilliput, Poole, Dorset BH14 8HA
Tel 01202717145
Fax 01202732617
Website: www.sevendevs.com
Contact: Brenda Mitchell, Director.
Email: brenda@sevendevs.com
Architect: KL ARCHITECTS
Hanover House, 136 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth BHl INL
Tel 01202 555545
Fax 01202 555546
Website: www.klarch.com
Contact: Steve Lyne, Director.
Email: mail@klarch.com