“We’ve lived here for almost 11 years, having bought the property through The Modern House in the early days of the agency. A good friend spotted it whilst it was under offer.

“At the time we weren’t really looking to move or leave London (we were living in a lovely Art Deco apartment in Stoke Newington), but we had three children all under three years old and were wondering what the future might look like for us, and what the best route through those years might be.

“When we saw the images of this house we were smitten, and the coast seemed like a good idea. The house miraculously came back on the market, so I drove down in the snow in late January and by April we’d moved in. We didn’t see any other properties and did very little research – it all felt rather impulsive!

“The house was built in the 1960s as a single-storey space, with two generous bedrooms. It also had a flat-roofed garage and a small outbuilding, sitting in almost an acre of garden. It was clear that we would need to enlarge the living space, but we wanted to respect the original design, materials and finishes of the house.

“We initially extended to give us an extra bedroom and a larger dining area. Then two years ago we took a more radical step, creating an extension with three bedrooms, an office and bathroom, plus carrying out extensive landscaping.

“Honey, Marni and Luc were 12, 10 and 9 by then, and the second extension allowed them to have their own rooms, and it allowed Vanessa and me to have a workspace that was separate from the heart of the house. It also gave us more space for our hard-to-love cat, Dusty, and our ridiculous dog, Friday.

“We worked with the architect Sam Moran to create a scheme that was discreet but spacious, and that felt light but had a low carbon footprint. It has solar panels, an air source heat pump, a sedum roof and a timber frame. The extension sits behind the original house and is almost invisible as you approach, and there’s no intervention to the existing property apart from via an old back door which connects the old to the new.

“Given that we were extending behind the house, to the north, and didn’t want the new space to project higher than the existing roof, Sam cleverly solved the light issue with a wonderful 18-metre glass-roofed corridor which feeds light into the rooms leading off it. Top light is the nicest light!

“The addition of landscaping and planting by garden designer Alice Meacham has meant there’s a large indoor/ outdoor area that we use as the main eating and living space for six months of the year.

“We’re on the border of east Devon and west Dorset, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lives up to its name. The landscape is dramatic and romantic; rolling hills, woodland, Roman forts. We’re a mile from the Lyme Regis beaches, too. Vanessa swims in the sea year-round, the kids all row and fish, and I use it as an opportunity to hone my photography.

“About six years ago we converted our garage into a totally self-contained studio holiday let (actually, the main house is available as a holiday let too when we’re not using it!). We were careful to echo the window proportions and whitewashed shiplap cladding from the main house, and furnished it with really good mid-century pieces so it’s very much a reflection of our house in miniature. We’ve made good friends with various visitors who’ve stayed there: from writers looking for a retreat, and international travellers looking to explore the Jurassic Coast, to foodies from London who visited the area for the weekend.

“I run a creative agency for fashion clients, JJMarshall Associates, and Vanessa also has a background in the fashion industry. We both have a love of textiles, and we’ve amassed a good collection of pieces which we rotate through the house now and then. My favourites would be the geometric ‘Extension’ Haydon Williams print for Heal’s, from 1968. It’s pretty rare; there’s a length held in the V&A’s collection. We also have various cuts of natural tie-dye cloth from The Gambia, which I love.

“I’ve had a Robin Day Hilleplan bookcase for almost 20 years. It was a rather rash purchase I made at auction, but it proved to be a good decision. I’ve also got a Heal’s 1930s extendable dining table which I bought in Camden in the ‘90s which has consistently made me happy through the years.

“That said, if I had to choose a favourite thing it’d probably be the three acer trees at the bottom of the garden! They have really delicate leaves which put on an amazing colour show for six months of the year. Seasonality is a really big part of this house.”

Jethro, if you moved, what would be the first thing you’d take with you?
“The cat.”

What do you think it means to live in a modern way?
“Our house combines a well-considered modern living space with a beautiful natural environment. It’s the combination of those two elements, for us, that brings happiness to raising a family, working, living in a space, and so on.

“It’s difficult now to imagine living without those two things; they’ve become integral to our personalities, interests and lifestyles.”

Is there a property on The Modern House website that’s caught your eye?
“The house in Kenilworth is a pure expression of a time, and a style that’s fared well over the years. That said, I’m tempted every time a Barbican property comes up; I’d say they’re the ideal London apartments.”

Explore our collection of country houses for the modern-minded currently on the market.

Read more: My Modern House: landscape designer Emily Erlam’s idyllic Norfolk barn conversion