Creating a dream house can sometimes mean starting from the ground up. Building your own home can be the key to getting exactly what you want for yourself and your family, rather than adding to or adapting an existing property.
Sometimes the inspiration for it can be as simple as stumbling across the perfect plot that is full of untapped potential. A patch of ground that has extraordinary views that you want to enjoy every day. With a self-build you are free to unleash your imagination and fit windows and doors that will allow you to drink in the scenery, whether it’s rolling acres of countryside or the vibrancy of an urban cityscape.
Let in the light
While a self-build can allow you to explore unique designs for your house, there are some golden rules that should apply when you start to plan. A key one of these is regarding light.
Bringing natural light into the home is as essential to your well-being as it is for enhancing the aesthetics of the building. Studies have shown that it improves your mood and helps restful sleep. It is also an aid to concentration – an important consideration given that so many of us continue to make home our work place for part or even all of the week.
Exposure to natural light helps with the absorption of Vitamin D (dubbed the sunshine vitamin); it is good for the bones while a deficiency of it has been linked to certain types of cancers, obesity, heart disease and depression. It can also help battle winter blues linked to shorter days and longer nights; letting more natural light into our homes reduces the feeling of being shut into gloomy spaces and having to rely on artificial light.
Plan your glazing
So how much space should be given over to windows in your rooms? As a basic guide, experts usually advise that glazing in a room should equal a minimum of 20 per cent of its floor space to allow daylight to reach even the darkest corners. To work out the window size, you can just calculate the area of the floor and then divide it by five.
In large open-plan rooms, even if you have an impressive array of bi-folds or sliding doors that flood one end of the space with sunlight, you should plan for glazing at points where it can draw light into the centre. Look at this not as a problem but as an opportunity to introduce even more striking glazing through rooflights or a glass ceiling covering an extension to the side.
If you want an open layout internally, but still like the option of being able to separate the spaces when needed, glass dividing doors can offer the best of both worlds. They can give a sense of openness and let light flow through, but still offer privacy when closed – shutting off the noise of activity in the other half of the room.
Choose your style
When deciding on what style of glazing you are going to have, you can seize the chance to go big in your home. Few people are thrilled by the look of too-tiny windows, but a wall of glass doors, or even two walls, can wow you every time you see it.
An inside-outside link has become a much coveted design concept, the idea of moving seamlessly between living rooms and garden has become a popular way of extending the home without actually making it any bigger. Instead the glass doors are pushed back to the fullest, blurring the lines of where the house ends and the terrace or patio begins, and the garden is zoned for activities we might previously have done indoors – whether that is eating and drinking, entertaining or even enjoying movie night in your own outdoor cinema.
The options for glass doors have advanced so much in recent years with the surging popularity in versatile bi-folding doors. A favourite with self-builders, extenders and renovators alike, they can be stacked entirely against one wall – to the left or right, inwards or outwards, whichever best suits your layout – to leave one end of the space exposed entirely to the garden. Level thresholds mean the floors inside and outside are flush, and the effect of the living space stretching outwards can be enhanced by choosing flooring that is similar in colour and style on either side of the doors. You can pick as few as two bi-folding panes or go for a bespoke arrangement that can cover the width of your home.There are different configurations to suit how much of the space you want open at one time, and the option of a traffic door that you can slip in and out of easily during winter. Outstanding insulation and weathertightness means that, even when it’s wet and windy outside, you can admire the wildness of nature while staying snug and warm indoors.
French doors are a simple and elegant solution for a smaller space where you want easy access to the garden and the extra light that full-height glazing can provide. Sliding doors are the go-to if you want uninterrupted views, as there is a wider expanse of glass in the frame. Only one half can usually be slid back at a time, but if you like the idea of no visible glass at all, choose a pocket sliding door so it tucks away out of sight, leaving just an open space to the outside. For panoramic views, look at options with multiple sliding panes that can glide seamlessly behind each other. Or consider corner systems with glazing at a 90 degree angle that can be drawn back for a seemingly gravity defying opening to the corner of the house.
About Schüco
Schüco is a leading name in high-quality windows, bi-fold and sliding doors, and bespoke glazing solutions. They have excellent thermal insulation values and varied design options, including different profile colours and finishes. The durable systems are precision German engineered, making even the heaviest doors easy to operate. A barrier-free level threshold system used in conjunction with any of their doors means a smooth transition between indoors and outdoors with no trip hazards. Ideal for families with young children, people with mobility issues or for future-proofing a home.