Story of the exceptional Yorkshire house that won this year's RIBA national award

To say they are well informed is an understatement so when it came to self-building, they had plenty of ideas. The story of the Hushh House began when Julie and Paul bought an old school house in a village near Richmond. While working on the conversion, a piece of land nearby came for sale, which they bought.

A few years later, an adjacent tennis court came on the market and buying that gave them a plot big enough for a home. Bursting with ideas of their own, the next step was to engage an architect and seek planning permission. “I was looking at work by different architects and thought it would be good to use a practice that was relatively local, which is why I contacted Elliott Architecture who are based in Corbridge,” says Julie.

The founders, husband and wife team Ben and Lynsey Elliott, hit it off with the Treleases right away. “They came to see us and the site and we told them what we wanted, which was something brave, and they were really enthusiastic,” says Julie.

Gaining planning permission wasn’t easy as the land was in a conservation area and it was a narrow plot fronted by old stone walls but the fact that the proposed flat-roofed property was lower than the walls and was therefore largely hidden from view, helped enormously.

The design of the building is sublime and was informed by the site, Lynsey and Ben Elliot’s original ideas and Julie and Paul’s lifestyle. The RIBA judges raved about it and the RIBA journal says: “Elliott Architects has designed a series of interlinked spaces, separated by small courtyards, that make for a sophisticated home of surprising scale and complexity.”

It makes the point that the constrained site could have restricted the house but the clever use of courtyards to deliver light and views to each room makes all the difference, while allowing each room to be distinct and characterful. The property has a kitchen and dining area, utility and a sitting room, along with a central, double-height gallery, which is a calm, open space featuring favourite pieces from the couple’s art collection. There is also a cloakroom and gym plus guest bedrooms and bathrooms and a main bedroom suite.

Just for Julie, an avid reader, there are stairs to the only first floor section of the house, which is a “secret reading room” made from birch ply with a green/living roof. Other materials used in the build include sandstone to match the existing wall, and corten steel, while Cumbrian slate features in the gallery and reading room elements plus there are lead copings to reference the area’s history of lead and copper mining.

The site threw up challenges including access via a narrow lane and boundaries with neighbours but the build was skilfully managed thanks to project manager Bryce Coleman. He steered it through the pandemic, ironed out issues and got the job done, helped by Paul who is in the building trade himself.

Stonemasons Steve and Sean Byrne were another great investment and Julie says: “Their artistry with the stone and the slate,which proved very challenging, was just beautiful. The stone is a work of art.”

She and Paul adore the house, which she says is “full of heart” and her favourite part is the gallery, the calm open space in the centre of the property featuring the couple’s collection of sculptures and other artwork. “It’s essentially a cube in the middle of the house and some people wonder what it’s for but it’s breathing space and it’s wonderful and so relaxing,” says Julie. “There is a real feeling of calm in there. One of the RIBA judges called it ‘a spiritual experience’.”

The decor throughout is fabulous thanks to Julie’s design eye and fresh ideas. She also likes to invest in quality and enjoys commissioning bespoke pieces from British artists and designer makers. Hinn.co.uk, whose strapline is “making nice things for nice people”, made all the doors, did the panelling in the gallery and made the impressive gate.

Furniture designer/maker Michael Armstrong, aka Afid Design, made beautiful bespoke furniture for the house and Antony Nixon of Fine Furniture Makers in Barnard Castle made the furniture in the main bedroom. The bathroom wallpaper is hand-painted and by Nat Maks and the two handmade fabric pouffes are from Judi Archer.

One of Julie’s favourite hunting grounds for interiors is Farfield Mill in Sedbergh, which has a mill shop and features work by artists and makers. She commissioned six rugs from Keith Barber of Gneiss Rugs who sells from there. The rugs are made on a handmade peg loom, which is one of the oldest forms of weaving.

There is still an interior “to do” list but there is no rush. Having renovated and moved multiple times, Julie believes the Hushh House is a keeper, not least because it’s age-proof and mostly on one level and as those who have seen it will testify, it is impossible to improve on perfection. *Elliott Architects, www.elliottarchitects.co.uk, Hushh House photography by Jill Tate.