Brockenhurst House, Hampshire residence photos, English contemporary property design, Modern UK home

Brockenhurst House in Hampshire

Updated 16 June 2025

Design: Studio BAD

Location: Hampshire, South of England, UK

Photos: Richard Chivers

Designed by Studio BAD, Brockenhurst House in Hampshire, South of England, has been completed completed and e-architect are delighted to publish the updated images.

Brockenhurst House – Modern Hampshire Home Design

Brockenhurst House began as a distinctive 1970s chalet-style property nestled on the outskirts of Brockenhurst, in the heart of the New Forest National Park. Purchased with a clear vision in mind, the new owners set out to transform the aging structure into their ideal lifelong home, one that gracefully supports the evolving needs without compromising on beauty, sustainability, or design integrity.

The success of the finished project is an absolute testament to the clients, Jackie and Adrian, the project reflects their passionate about sustainability, and their ambition reimagine and upgrade the tired and leaky house. The result is a refined, low-carbon dwelling that balances modern design with future-proofed functionality.

The design brief focused on three key goals: reconfiguring the layout to allow for flexible living, delivering a sustainable overhaul of the building’s fabric and systems, and strengthening the relationship between house and garden. A series of small, intimate extensions to the side and rear enabled a thoughtful reorganisation of internal spaces, improving flow and spatial hierarchy while visually and physically drawing the landscape deeper into the home.

Full height, carefully placed glazing enhances the visual connectivity with the peaceful landscape, finished with paved hardscaping that creates terraced areas, leading to the new yoga studio at the far end of the garden. The new studio has been wrapped in stained dark timber, blending it into the garden and echoing the finish of the house extension.

The stained timber cladding references the local vernacular, subtly wrapping the extension of the home and creating a striking new covered entrance. The reimagined interior centres on a spacious open-plan kitchen and dining area at the rear, defined by large glazed openings that overlook the garden and a generous skylight that draws daylight deep into the heart of the home. Passive solar design principles, including considered window placement and external shading, further enhance occupant comfort throughout the seasons.

Flexibility is embedded into the floor plan. A ground floor guest suite, designed with future accessibility in mind, features expansive glazing and a shared ‘jack & jill’ ensuite, allowing it to adapt easily into a primary bedroom should the need arise. Upstairs, a reconfigured master suite provides generous accommodation with an ensuite, completing a home that anticipates its residents’ needs now and into the future.

Accessibility has been elegantly integrated throughout. The entire ground floor is step-free, with widened circulation spaces and level thresholds from the front door to the garden, offering inclusivity without visual compromise.

Sustainability was paramount to the project, Jackie and Adrian wanted to deliver the most low energy approach that their budget would allow. A pre-construction air test was carried out to establish exactly what retrofitting would be required to deliver the low energy home they wanted. The work included a full thermal upgrade: 200mm of external wall insulation to the new and existing elements, high-performance triple glazing, underfloor insulation, and a new warm-deck roofing system.

The home is now heated via an air source heat pump with underfloor heating, supplemented by solar photovoltaics with battery storage. Natural ventilation and passive cooling strategies eliminate the need for mechanical air conditioning, reducing operational energy and enhancing comfort. All this carefully planned work has allowed the property to be off grid, which was only possible through the owner’s determination and the budget sacrifices they made to ensure the important sustainable work was achieved.

Once the construction of the shell was complete by the builder, the rest of the work to complete the project was taken on by Jackie and Adrian. This work included completing the bathrooms installation, kitchen decoration, laying flooring, installing external cladding and completing the garden landscaping.

Brockenhurst House now exemplifies how thoughtful architecture can elevate everyday living, transforming a tired home into a high-quality, low-carbon contemporary home to support all needs in the future. A project like this should be celebrated for championing sustainable methods, putting renewable technologies at the forefront of the design, driving the much needed change in the domestic build market.

Photographs: Richard Chivers

1 Nov 2023

Images from Studio BAD

1 Nov 2023

Brockenhurst House, Hampshire, South England

The owners of Brockenhurst House appointed Studio BAD to help reimagine the existing dwelling, a distinctive 1970’s chalet house featuring low eaves. Planning permission has been granted for the design proposal, to reconfigure the existing dwelling to create a home fit for the growing family’s needs. An extension adds the space to adapt the interior layout, to create a better flow and bring the garden within. A thermally upgrade to the structure and fabric of the house will also be deliver alongside the renovations, to deliver a comfortable low energy home.

The design rearranges the ground floor, maximising the space available and enhancing the functionality. The scheme extends and opens up the kitchen and dining area, increasing connectivity to the rest of the home and the large garden. On the first floor the concept extends the main bedroom, creating a generous master suite with ensuite bathroom. The design considers passive heating and cooling strategies with external shading elements and strategic window placement.

Enhancing the connection between the house and the garden is a key aspect of the proposal; the proposal extends into the outside space as a natural extension of the home, viewing the garden as a series of external rooms and spaces with a strong connection to the internal activities. A semi covered colonnade connects the home with a new, detached garden room (for use as a potential yoga studio/study space), through a concept of wrapping around the plot to add privacy.

As part of the whole proposal the house will be thermally upgraded, increasing the energy performance, with the aim of delivering a low energy, comfortable home that has a reduced reliance on the national grid.