Lizbeth Holstein and Sebastian Galbraith-Helps owe their whippet for their current home. Although the couple, a fine artist and real-estate project manager, had lived in the area for a decade, they were used to taking their dachshunds on shorter strolls near their former farmhouse. One day, when day roaming further afield with their new energetic canine, they came across a derelict forge and petrol pump station. Hankering for the space to build a sustainable home and creative studio, they took a punt and bought the plot.

Despite an initial planning rejection, they managed to convince the parish council that replacing the forge with an eco-friendly house was a viable plan. While drawing on references such as the local barn vernacular, Nordic noir mysteries and Lizbeth’s love of mid-century design, the couple built it as close to Passivhaus standards as possible, making sure that the house doesn’t drain the surrounding resources. As it comes on the market, Lizbeth and Sebastian tell us about the joys of living with just cows and sheep for neighbours, and the benefits of invigorating daily dips in their natural pond. 

Lizbeth: “We lived about half a mile up the hill for 10 years in an old renovated Victorian farmhouse. We’ve always had small dachshunds and never walked very far with them, but then we got a whippet and had to take her much further. That’s when we came across the forge: it once made shoes for horses and then was used by farmers to mend their tractors. There was even a fuel pump where they would fill up with diesel. The plot was also home to an old cottage, so there was a lot of potential.”

Sebastian: “When we first told people we were going to try and buy an old petrol station and turn it into an eco-house they didn’t believe us. The plot had to be sold as a going concern. Our plan was to get rid of the petrol pumps and the garage and turn the existing cottage into an Airbnb rental. It has been completely renovated by Lizbeth and our daughter, who has a design business, Studio Avilo, in Europe. It’s been really beautifully done. We used the rest of the site, where the forge was, to build a bigger house, which is where we live now.”

Sebastian: “We knew we had to build something new if we were to embrace all the recent innovations in house building. The house nearly meets the Passivhaus standard. We would never get this quality of house if we’d renovated the old forge.”

Lizbeth: “We are partial to a Nordic noir mystery and a lot of them seem to feature homes with incredible burnt-larch black cladding or metal cladding – and they always seem to be black. We also love Scandinavian design and are really drawn to that aesthetic, but we also wanted to nod to the agriculture barns of the area.

“On the exterior, to elevate the black façade and make it look more architectural, we faced all the windows with a panel of larch that we then stained a lovely red, the colour of cedar. That was also a nod to mid-century design: a lot of the furniture from that period is black, mahogany or teak and I love that combination. I wanted to use natural materials, so we have solid Danish birch floors throughout the interior, and all the windowsills are lined with stone and frame the views really beautifully.”

“The house is very much a blank canvas – we haven’t put any colour on the walls so that it showcases the art we have collected over the years. I love my birch-ply kitchen. It was on my mood board for years and ply is such a beautiful material. We found an architect in Frome who has developed this system for laser-cut ply. It’s a really efficient way of building.”

Sebastian: “Lizbeth is all about what you see, but I’m more about what is going on in the background. Inside we have a system that repurposes the air 30 times an hour, so no matter what the exterior temperature is this house is always at 20 degree Celsius. It means that with the solar gain we were able to have these fixed panes. You never need to open the windows on a horrible day because the air is being recirculated all the time. The house is incredibly comfortable to live in.

“We also created a natural swimming pond. We see the birds taking a dip in the summer, then walk on the ice in the winter. It’s really beautiful. All the rainwater from the roof goes into it. It’s not like having a swimming pool: it isn’t high maintenance, there aren’t chemicals or any PH balancing to do and it doesn’t rinse the area’s resources. There are amazing benefits of cold-water swimming, but the real joy of having a body of water with lovely plants is that it attracts swallows and dragonflies. Plus, it’s a lovely social space for all ages in the summer.

Lizbeth: “It’s another self-perpetuating system that more or less looks after itself. What’s been planted there keeps it clean.”

Sebastian: “After our cold-water swims, we stand under the hot water of our greenhouse shower, which sits with our plants. It makes me smile every single time – no matter what the weather is.”

“We have a vegetable patch outside the kitchen window, which was a really considered decision. It’s nice to see what’s ready to harvest. We’ve got another one further down the meadow that’s for veggies that don’t need as much attention, such as carrots and potatoes.

“The next owners of this house might appreciate the fact that, although it is open plan, there are dedicated silos to escape to. Lizbeth’s studio, for example, could be turned into whatever they like. During the day, we are on the same plot but we aren’t on top of each other, which has worked really well.

“We host a lot here – we are less than two hours from London and have a constant stream of friends and family coming down to stay. We’ve got children in their twenties, and they’ve got a lot of friends who come and stay, too. We’re very popular during Glastonbury Festival!”

Lizbeth: “We are very lucky because the land around us isn’t really used for anything. It really feels like the whole area is protected: there’s no heavy farming or machinery. We have sheep and a few cows next to us as neighbours. It’s bliss.”