Furze Hill, New Forest, Hampshire

Occupying an exceptional position in the New Forest National Park, this award-winning home and studio, designed by architect David Hayhurst, is a triumph in sustainable rural living. Blending a sophisticated approach to contemporary design with an informed application of modern construction methods, the house has exemplary eco-credentials and incredible energy efficiency. The house is set in 2.7 acres of gardens, paddock and woodland, which leads to 220 sq miles of the picturesque National Park beyond. The villages of Hyde and Frogham are easily reached on foot, while nearby Salisbury and Brockenhurst connect to London Waterloo in around 90 minutes.

Environmental Performance  

The house was awarded Green Building of The Year 2023 in the New Forest National Park Building Design Awards for its excellent approach to environmental performance. Conceived as a low-energy all-electric home, the house was designed to run without fossil fuels and is able to generate its annual power demand from solar photovoltaic panels. Incredibly airtight, the house exceeds Passivhaus standards. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) ensures excellent year-round indoor air quality by extracting air from the kitchen and bathrooms and supplying fresh filtered air to the whole house. Heat recovered from the extracted air warms and dehumidifies the wintertime supply, reducing heating demand and lowering energy bills.

Heat and hot water are provided by an ultra-quiet air-source heat pump, and windows are triple-glazed, strategically sized and positioned to provide daylight and wintertime solar gain without excessive warming. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) has been chosen for its strength, thermal properties and inherent airtightness, as well as its ability to sequester carbon, providing a healthy natural internal finish without paint or plaster. The timber structure is supported on a highly insulated passive slab foundation that saves energy while its thermal mass helps maintain stable indoor air temperatures.

The Tour 

Set off a quiet country lane, the site feels incredibly private; the house is concealed from view on the approach. A private gated driveway offers a generous provision of parking space, leading up to the primary entrance on the westerly side.

The architectural profile is both refined and robust, a striking and bold silhouette against the forest backdrop. The facade is clad with blackened larch and the pitched roof is finished with GreenCoat colour coated steel.

The house is fully accessible, with four bedrooms, two bathrooms and immaculately finished interiors. The main entrance hall, illuminated by a deep skylight, is a bright central space with room to store bicycles or for use as a generous foyer; all ground-floor rooms flow from here.

Expansive picture windows bring plenty of light and warmth through the primary living space, a calm and peaceful area where family life can play out, with enchanting views across the paddock and woodland beyond.

Black steel freestanding modules supplied and installed by Vipp define the layout in the adjacent kitchen, pairing seamlessly with the timber ceilings and exposed walls. Carefully designed with the practicalities of daily life in mind, appliances from Siemens, Samsung, and Fisher & Paykel are neatly housed. Additional Vipp modules can be added if required. There are two double bedrooms and a bathroom with a bath and shower at the rear of the house.

Crossing the hallway, a doorway leads to a separate wing of the house. There is a further large double bedroom here, with huge picture windows that bring an excellent quality of natural light in from two sides. A spacious shower room lies adjacent. Ascending the central timber staircase, the upper mezzanine level houses another bedroom and further storage space. The layout is versatile, easily allowing for this part of the house to be used separately with its own lobbied entrance. Currently, the ground-floor bedroom is used as a workspace, or with kitchen units installed (and connected to services already in place) it could form a one-bedroom, self-contained annexe for family members or guests.

Forbo Marmoleum, a long-lasting natural wood-based material, has been laid throughout the ground floor. Easy to maintain and comfortable to walk on, it contains no petrochemicals. Underfloor heating warms from beneath. High security, triple-glazed Velfac composite windows and doors are used throughout.

A mobile studio provides ancillary accommodation in the garden. It is separated from the house by a lawn and a small orchard, with a view into the woodland and across the pond and meadow. The space is divided into a bedroom, a shower room with WC and a living space with a kitchen, with plenty of built-in seating and storage. The studio provides a peaceful getaway from the main house, ideal for guests or as an additional living area or workspace.

Outdoor Space

The surrounding gardens, paddock and woodland total around 2.7 acres, offering an excellent provision of space for relaxing, socialising and playing. Interventions have been made to promote biodiversity; the paddock has been seeded to create an area of permanent grassland, supporting a huge variety of wild flowering meadow plants, and the woodland is securely deer-fenced to prevent grazing and allow natural regrowth. Boundary hedges have been laid and saplings have been planted across the site; a small pond is a magnet for wildlife, including dragonflies and newts.

Parking and vehicle access is provided at two roadside entrances, and a separate metered water supply is available for the paddock, if needed. The house has the benefit of New Forest Rights of Common and the paddock has equestrian potential, with suitable space for outbuildings or stables.

The Area

Situated in a quiet but spectacular location in the National Park, New Forest ponies, donkeys, deer, pigs and cattle roam freely outside the house. Farm shops, cafés and rural pubs are easily reached on foot; it is possible to walk, cycle or horseride from the front and rear in all directions, on many miles of peaceful traffic-free trails and tracks, crossing open heath and forested enclosures.

A Waitrose supermarket, extensive shopping facilities and cafés and restaurants are available in the market town of Ringwood, five miles away. There are plenty of excellent eateries nearby, including the Crow Farm Shop, the Royal Oak in Fritham, and the award-winning restaurant The PIG at Brockenhurst.. The coast is 15 miles to the south with a choice of excellent beaches including Hengistbury Head and Mudeford, with its colourful beach huts.

There are excellent schools in the area, including Moyles Court School, Canford School and Ringwood School as well as South Wilts Grammar School, Bishop Wordsworth's School and Godolphin in Salisbury.

Direct rail services from Salisbury or Brockenhurst connect to London Waterloo in around 90 minutes. With easy access to the M27 and M3, London is reachable in two hours by car. Airports in Southampton and Bournemouth provide regular flights to Scotland, Ireland and seasonal European destinations.

Council Tax Band: G