A woodland Symphony

Musicians Katerina Nazarova and Tim Hugh built their own sustainable home in a truly wild setting

- Alexandra Pratt

HOMEOWNERS Katerina Nazarova and Tim Hugh

LOCATION South Wales

SIZE 290m²

BUILD ROUTE Subcontractors and DIY

CONSTRUCTION Renovation and steel-framed extension

BUILD TIME Two years

BUILD COST £342,000

Most people focus on the house itself when looking for a new place to live, but for Katerina Nazarova and Tim Hugh, both classical musicians, it was the setting of their new home that really won their hearts.

“It’s all about the view. We feel like we’re inside a wildlife show all day, every day,” says Tim. Surrounded by two and a half acres of woodland, some marshland and even a lake with an island, it is the perfect place for quiet reflection away from their busy lives touring and performing. Their project to renovate and extend has created a contemporary retreat that is both restful and elegant.

Yet when Tim and Katerina first viewed the building, it had considerably less charm than the wider setting. Originally the tiny cottage of a water bailiff responsible for policing the river for salmon poachers, it was converted into a bungalow by the previous owners around 30 years ago.

“It was looking rather tired; it had lots of small dark rooms and the garden was so overgrown, you needed a chainsaw to get through,” says Katerina.

INSPIRED BY NATURE