Ship House

Winner of the 2021 national LABC Building Excellence award for best renovation project.

Ship House is a stunning renovation project set in the idyllic North Devon coastal town of Appledore. With far-reaching views of Appledore estuary, we transformed this ageing mid-terrace cottage into a modern coastal home.

The brief was to create a minimalist, contemporary coastal home, with open-plan living and clean lines, ensuring to create a seamless connection between inside and outside.

Metters and Wellby Architects were engaged from the initial concept stage, achieving planning permission, through to final detailing and interior design specification. This included the bespoke designed staircase and all final fixtures and fittings.

Set within a conservation area and with extremely limited access, this project provided plenty of challenges. During the design process, Metters and Wellby Architects completed careful negotiations with the conservation team in order to achieve planning permission.

We successfully gained planning permission for a home that strikes a fine balance of working within important natural environment, and creating a luxury, contemporary home.

In order to maintain and enhance the conservation area, the exterior roadside was retained, which brought challenges during the construction phase. As a mid-terrace house, the only access was the front door. Therefore all materials and construction equipment could only enter through the small front entrance. Despite these obstacles, together with the construction team, we achieved a stunning final result.

Completed in 2020, this renovation project has transformed this tired terrace cottage into modern coastal haven.

The Orchard Barn

The Orchard Barn is an exciting project located in the Devon countryside that is currently under construction. Metters and Wellby Architects achieved planning consent under Class Q criteria to convert an old agricultural barn into a residential dwelling.

Applying for planning permission under Class Q provides a wealth of opportunity for owners of redundant agricultural barns. Whilst there are limitations, it is possible to turn a disused building into a highly valuable asset.

The Class Q permitted development regulation was introduced in 2014 and it is part of the government’s drive to ease the pressure on housing in rural areas. Metters and Wellby Architects have worked on several Class Q developments, and while there are still plenty of restrictions, the possibilities are certainly exciting.

Our client has recently sold the barn, and it is now under construction by the new owner. We will share more images once available. Below are Metters and Wellby Architect's 3D renders that were submitted to planning and used for marketing materials.