With impressive eco-credentials, this versatile six-bedroom house straddles an adjacent country park in Westerfield, a quiet Suffolk village two miles north of Ipswich. It was completed in 2017 to designs by architect Peter Wells, with voluminous living spaces that extend to around 3,480 sq ft. Generous glazing bathes the home with natural light and frames views over the garden and bucolic surroundings. There are plenty of walking and cycling routes nearby (as well as two much-loved village pubs), while Ipswich Station is around an 11-minute drive away and connects to Cambridge and London in just over an hour.

Environmental Performance

This home was conceived with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind. Constructed using a Nudura highly insulated concrete form system, it has excellent airtightness, a ground-source heat pump and high-performance double-glazed doors and windows throughout, ensuring the home’s overall energy requirements are very low.

The Tour

This house is set off a shared access lane. It occupies a quiet, pastoral plot and has a private gated driveway offering generous parking alongside a double garage. The approaching elevations of greying larch cladding and a standing seam zinc roof create a striking silhouette formed from a considered palette of contemporary materials. A holistic relationship with the site is key to the design of the home, with both the architectural profile and internal footprint harking to the historic barn that once occupied the site.

The front door opens to an arresting entrance box. A series of elongated slot windows and overhead glazing allows shafts of light to cascade in, creating shadows across the plastered walls and micro-cement floor. There is an exacting approach to light and volume throughout, mirrored by high-specification eco-credentials to support sustainable modern living.

The entrance hall leads to an equally impressive and lofty open-plan living space, gently delineated to suit cooking, eating, chatting and relaxing. A stunning quality of natural light bathes the room throughout the day, care of swathes of glazed openings that line the west-facing wall. One, a six-metre high, fixed-pane window, anchors the home’s connections with its surroundings, while bi-fold screens facilitate an indoor-outdoor flow. Just beyond are a series of terraces perfect for a morning coffee or lazy brunch.

Reclaimed French oak parquet, laid in a herringbone pattern, runs underfoot, uniting the kitchen, dining and living areas. Generous cabinetry lies beneath kitchen worktops, with a space for a dining table centrally and a walk-in pantry tucked to one side.

A large sitting room sits at the southern end of the plan. A quieter retreat, this versatile and welcoming space affords further generous room for sociable gatherings and opens directly to the terrace. During colder months, a warming wood-burning stove here transforms the room into a cosy snug.

One of the home’s six bedrooms, replete with en suite shower room, also lies on this floor. Overlooking the front entrance yard this would adapt well as office space. Completing the ground floor layout is a handy cloakroom area, that provides a welcome secondary access after muddy walks and a WC.

The bespoke walnut and steel stair leads from the entrance hall to the first floor, a space no less impressive. Looking over the garden and big Suffolk skies is a generous landing and upper walkway. The current owners have set out a desk and chair here, providing a lovely place to work. The landing connects the five bedrooms (two with en suites), the family bathroom and a handy upper-level utility room.

The well-proportioned, double-aspect main bedroom is bathed in natural light. A Juliet balcony is an inviting place to sit and enjoy the view of swaying long grasses and wildflower-filled meadows. It has an excellent provision of built-in storage within the walk-in dressing room, and an immaculate en suite shower room.

The other four double bedrooms are also generous and considered. Light-filled and with the flexibility to suit ever-changing needs, they follow suit in being brilliantly executed. There are climbing walls for fun accession to the attic play space and large windows, many with built-in seats, that keep the rooms in dialogue with the outdoors.

Outdoor Space

An acre of land surrounds the house, enhancing its rural feel. An immersive celebration of biodiversity, it teems with flora and fauna. Colourful, abundant planting and established trees, bushes and hedging attract an array of wildlife and birds.

The garden offers a variety of places to rest and relax, as well as many contemplative spots to enjoy the enveloping nature. At the western boundary there are a string of outhouses, timber stores and workshops.

A carport and a garage attach to the house, providing secure parking and abundant additional storage for bikes, windsurfs and everyday accoutrement.

The Area

The house stands in Westerfield, a village with a secluded feel that lies only two miles from the amenities of Ipswich. Westerfield has two much-loved pubs, both with green gardens.

Beside the River Orwell, Ipswich sees the best of town, countryside and coastline. The waterfront is lined with cafés, bars, restaurants and galleries. Briarbank pub and brewery is a local favourite, as is The Woolpack. The Ipswich Regent Theatre is Suffolk’s epicentre for international culture, with live music, comedy, dance and musicals.

The arts are equally well-served elsewhere in the area. Snape Maltings and Leiston Abbey host celebrated musical concerts that draw many international musicians.

The Suffolk coastline, with its vast tracts of reedbeds, heath and beach, is around half an hour by car. Sutton Hoo, one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, sits on the banks of the nearby River Deben. There are also Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty nearby, with nature reserves at Minsmere and Redgrave and Lopham Fenns.

Described as the ‘gem in Suffolk’s crown’, Woodbridge combines culture and scope for all outdoor activities in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There is also a very good independent bookshop and cinema, as well as a more comprehensive range of shops and restaurants.

For sailing and wild swimming enthusiasts, Orford and Aldeburgh are likewise close by. The area is well-serviced for schools, and St Mary’s Catholic Primary, Hartismere Secondary, and Worlingworth CofE are all rated by Ofsted as “Outstanding”.

Ipswich Station, around an 11-minute drive from the house, runs trains to both Cambridge and London Liverpool Street in just over an hour. There is also good access to the A12.

Council Tax Band: G

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.