Discover the Secret Garden House | A Modern Eco Home Hidden Behind a 300-year-old Wall

[@vivienlegeisha3425]

I’m surprised no one talks about how lovely this couple is!!! They seem genuinely happy and there is a camaraderie between them that’s quite rare to find nowadays. And of course, I’m envious that they live in such a beautiful house!!!

[@fdirect9206]

Our company supplied the brick flooring for inside and love how it’s turned out. It’s great to see the workings of the property and how it all comes together!

[@cindyhollings2079]

What a beautiful and generous couple to share their magnificent home and garden with us. So inspiring, I wish them the happiest lives!

[@gearetal]

What an absolutley stunning house, and what a lovely couple.

[@tspmcfarlane]

I loved the mother / daughter relationship analogy. A really interesting way to think about the combining of older and newer.

[@janelte]

This is easily my favourite architecture channel. So thoughtful and quiet, giving access to homes, their owners and architects I would likely never come across otherwise, and each of them a careful response to their different owners and environs. This is such a beautiful home, with each one of its details purposeful and valuable, in a garden that adds to the environment and preserves the history in the form of that wonderful wall. i love the new brickwork too. Thank you so much to the owners for sharing their space and the channel for the quiet appreciation of others' work and the filming. I really love it.

[@UnaTheMoon]

have you seen the local project channel? that is 👍😊

[@annjohnson8437]

Well said! ❤

[@rachelcee613]

This is delightful. My love of pottery, gardening, and architecture all in one. And the couple are so sweet!

[@mushaaboom]

What an inspiration! This couple has exquisite taste, and their architects did a fantastic job - reminds me of homes designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh where he carefully planned and designed every detail, down to even the cutlery. Everything is in perfect harmony. Also - would love to read a book / do a course by Eileen on garden design, she seems to have such a wonderfully intuitive way about it and she can articulate her choices so well, it really feels like it's second nature to her!

[@marklee2320]

How glorious: a home and not just a house; thoughtfully and beautifully designed and built; and with a garden that complements and nourishes the whole experience of where the couple live. Watching this inspires me to look again at my own modest home and, to begin with, the small improvements I can make that will make living here even more enjoyable while making some contribution to environmental impact that I wouldn't have thought about before. Thanks to Matt and team who had the idea for this and to the owner/couple who have shared their home/project with us.

[@raysville7256]

Wonderfully intelligent achievement, astounding collection of ceramics.

[@grecow3484]

What a wonderful house, filled with beautiful things, and delightful garden. One can only hope they have a long and happy life in their awesome home.

[@Ericthegreat1483]

Really lovely home. I look forward to the day tending to the garden is the main activity each day, so peaceful. Must. Keep. Working

[@anniemccarthy1960]

Absolutely superb! ❤️

[@annwiltshire1644]

Absolutely stunning Love the walls of books The gardens All of it. Thank you for sharing.

[@boatwidow]

This is my all time favourite house, thank you for featuring it. What a treat!

[@AllisonCadogan]

Love the home. Absolutely beautiful. Lovely couple.

[@iftekharmian2759]

what a cool - delightful house full of such beauty in & outside - love the walled in gardens - private / soothing & surprising! well done to everyone involved.

[@katechaston3672]

Love it! Stunning house, fabulously designed and with so much light - I would love to live there myself! And beautiful gardens especially the more wildly planted areas. I love acers too, as well as your silver birches. And thank you for the tip to make a reflection pool using food colouring - noted! 🙂

[@lisadooley2794]

The most beautiful home, so inspiring

[@JaredCzaia]

McLean Quinlan is probably my favorite architecture firm. So timeless.

[@mme90]

What an incredible house ❤

[@debb8152]

I love these. Another great house, so interesting, great couple--love them and their house.

[@LarsGudem]

Such a wonderful place and people 😍

[@andydore4210]

Nice house Nice people The jury is out on the mole

[@michellerobertson874]

For goodness sake! What’s this about bungalows “letting the side down” or seemingly regarded as a second class home. I would never choose a house with an upper floor when I could have the space and spread of a “bungalow”. They are lovely to live in and the flow from room to room is fabulous and can be as grand as you like. I have lived in both kinds of houses and appreciate the bungalow so much more.

[@lobstermash]

Yes, agreed. I can't quite figure out what is meant by "bungalow" in Britain. Does it just mean a single-storey house? This house bears no resemblance to an actual bungalow. I absolutely agree that a single-storey house is much more comfortable, with long sight lines through the house and no stairs for a person with difficult mobility. The main disadvantage may be that they are expensive because of the larger footprint on the land. Two-storey houses are becoming more common where I live as a money-saving strategy - you can put 3-4 bedrooms and two bathrooms on a very small plot. The stairs are often really steep.

[@nogginsquared]

The only downside we found is that for Passivhaus Plus, which adds your power generation capability to the insulation/airtightness mix that straight Passivhaus measures, the generation number is divided by the footprint of the house rather than the overall floorspace, so we didn't make it.

[@vincefr.d]

I'm not an expert, but having a mole in your garden may actually be one of the greatest indicators that your house is in balance with nature. Because it invites native species, they see it no different than the real forrest.

[@Ahnii]

Exactly, they also don't hurt trees, quite the contrary they loosen soil which helps plants spread their roots.

[@EmilyBieman]

Yes, it’s because they don’t have any dogs too. There’s way too many dogs in too many backyards, an imbalance of dogs. Thank goodness I note of late, people are starting to lose interest in having dogs.

[@vrvrvr81]

Wonderful!

[@fualexander7798]

Saw this house in Grand Designs "House of the Year" a few years back, is a lovely house.

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

I love moles those are such incredibly cute animals. They airate the lawn and maintain a healthy ecosystem. This house is stunning.

[@sdmsdm7926]

magnificent home, lovely couple!

[@billyporter2195]

Informative and relaxing, thank you

[@junejasminedavis2275]

Thank you for this beautiful post amazing

[@akselribenis]

What a beautiful and harmonious extension of themselves, their relationship this couple has created with the help of good architects! It was definitely quite much fun for all the involved parts to create this. And fun goes on with everything that happens in this magnificent garden. One thing that I would add to this beauty and harmony would be a flowing water (a fountain or brook) powered by the solar energy. This would add some other energy and acoustic to the place. Thank you for finding these very lovely people/ house and making the video!

[@florenciaosella2542]

Absolutely beautiful!!

[@jenshagelstein7695]

a fantastic house, best wishes to the owners.

[@mh-sif]

Such amazing!!

[@allydougall6486]

Absolutely stunning house, i would love to create something like this one day ❤

[@sff9919]

Lovely house and occupants. 😊

[@sarahcoshan]

Just beautiful.

[@fredrickmacharia6397]

Wow, What a house! & the owners are clearly very passionate about it💯

[@hakkalocken]

I'd love to see an unedited walkthrough of this house, so we can get a sense of what it's like to transition from one space to the next. I'd also like a closer look at Nigel's bookshelves. I know a row of Autocourse spines when I see them! 😅

[@nogginsquared]

Well spotted!

[@spiritualhumanist]

Great job, good luck.

[@geoffeverson5411]

One of the best houses I have ever seen. Full stop. Is it because the architects took an holistic approach?

[@nongroupthought5076]

I am always intrigued about rhe beautiful spaces, what do the owners do, the dream of building your home.

[@geoms6263]

I love the garden

[@dinodinosaur2930]

💚 Wonderful

[@Glimmertwin32]

Fabulous home

[@Sabena-pl3cw]

Love the house (and garden)! I would have appreciated more information about the building materials used and other design aspects that make it a passive house.

[@nogginsquared]

I replied with a link to the house site but it looks like that was an issue - it's thewalledgardendevon and is a .uk domain.

[@borculo1]

I love this house and its garden

[@LizShaw-w6x]

I’m full of admiration for the architecture, the interiors, and the garden….sigh

[@ptose]

I don't know who father is, but I really like the music, I wonder where it's possible too listen to find it.

[@eattherich9215]

I'm all for a private kitchen and don't know when cooking became a spectator activity. I love the internal courtyard and brick floor. @8:06, love that too. I love the look of the house, but there was too much focus on the extensive grounds.

[@nogginsquared]

The focus on the grounds was because Matt did this film to illustrate the “nature” chapter of his book - I guess we could have fitted the other chapters too!

[@sc0or]

- Where do we live, dad? - We live in a wall, son. Cause we’re wallmen.

[@romanaivanovic3230]

Ist ja echt kuschelig und so preiswert

[@davidjamessussex1671]

What an ideal house

[@javiercostanoguera4930]

Super interesante. Gracias

[@assezzen194]

Beautiful . To think that it only cost 100 000£ all included! =)

[@arnemcradu6499]

Awesome

[@FT__Home__Plants__etc___-go9rv]

being rich is awesome

[@jamegumm]

Great camera work

[@jamesbowie6925]

Great house but would not like to do the dusting😊

[@stevensibbet5869]

Running costs are negative. Why can't all houses be like this in the UK?

[@PeachesandCream225]

Amazing exterior but that internal black paint really darkens that internal space and makes it look small

[@nogginsquared]

The only black paint is in the recessed ceiling above the kitchen area, the other bits being black stained wood. The film makes it seem a lot darker inside than it is in the flesh as it definitely doesn’t feel dark to live in.

[@exton2174]

Simply Aweful . Incoherent and Disconnected. Asthetics Jarr Soulless and Dehumanising. Demolish This Building and Let Classical Beauty Breathe Again

[@joshuajaydan]

They didn't focus much on the wall did they?

[@nogginsquared]

In the flesh it’s hard to miss at 70m long and 3+m high so it dominates the place!

[@victortrying]

Well done! Certainly not the bling of the moment - very tasteful choices. Also, I must say… internet commentary is reaching an unbearable level. Architecture unfortunately seems to attract too many cynical remarks and gatekeeping, I don’t know what’s going on anymore (see above and below…).

[@acsarchitect]

Black dye in the pond so nothing will grow??? Does it hurt wildlife too?

[@nogginsquared]

No, it's food dye - it’s a popular drinking spot for pigeons and crows and even has a few newts. It’s very shallow and intended as a “reflection pool” rather than a wildlife pond.

[@Dnn411]

❤

[@vincevegas222]

beautiful. but a big house for two cant never be eco in any sense.

[@nogginsquared]

We did discuss that, but we worked on the assumption that being old(ish) we’re just temporary residents!

[@Rice-oj6zf]

They have the time and finances to build and maintain this property and land though. Others will benefit too. Swings and roundabouts I say

[@AC-wz9tx]

Yeah, best stick 200 new builds that no one can afford on that land eh?

[@vincevegas222]

@@nogginsquared if you are the owner i wish you the most amazing time in this home. your taste ist outstanding

[@nogginsquared]

@@vincevegas222 yes - thank you so much!

[@lee_kpQ]

... Is the camera-man/ woman slightly drunk??

[@JamesRoach-r1d]

They wax lyrical about their architects but they’re never named in the video. Seems very odd to not credit the designers.

[@nogginsquared]

James - they're named at the top and their link is there too - McLean Quinlan. I'm sure we'd have named them, but I guess what's included in the film is down to the editing!

[@rickpetersen5728]

Money / happiness.

[@jocika022]

To build (or buy such a house) in the part of the world where I live, it would cost between 5 and 7 million euros. For this "eco-friendly" structure, it likely took so much material and energy that it can be called anything but "eco-friendly." This is purely a demonstration of wealth and has nothing to do with ecology. Of course, they have the right to do so, but I’m not buying their story. Pure hypocrisy.

[@nogginsquared]

Which part of the world is that? The cost was a LOT less than that!

[@hello_edu]

This is a staged house. All rooms are designed for beautiful photography, not for daily use. Who dusts off this house? It’s large for an older couple. See the point? That’s a kitchen for people who don’t cook. No workshop station either. No workout room. No sauna. No outdoors kitchen station to enjoy by the pool. It’s a design exercise that they see as their legacy for “many years to come”. Beautiful but stale.

[@nogginsquared]

It definitely works for us and we've now lived in it for 6 years. We dust it ourselves and even cook! Of course beautiful photography was the point of the film and as it was focussed on the garden/landscape it didn't cover how we live as there's a lot more to it than was shown!

[@hello_edu]

@ sorry if my comment sounded snarky. And I’m happy to hear the most important opinion: yours! Regardless of what I said; the house is indeed beautiful 👏

[@nogginsquared]

@@hello_edu no problem, it’s not to everyone’s taste! Are you on Instagram?

[@DesignXWorkshop]

Where this channel misses the mark is on the details and cost of actually building modern homes. Most people (99 percent) will never build modern homes or passive homes because most people cannot afford architects, engineers, etc. and most builders do not have the education or skill to complete the tasks. SIPS panels (for example) are relatively easy and cheap to build and install, however, the cost to the consumer is OUTRAGEOUS…primarily because all the wires and pipes need to be pre-installed prior to assembly. There has to be a fundamental shift in the world of construction for these types of homes to be built in the volumes necessary to positively impact our natural environment. If you just did the math….given the age of this couple…they would have had less of an impact on the environment if they had stayed in their existing home and just planted the garden and trees.

[@nogginsquared]

In this case the panels went up fast and all the services were added afterwards in first fix. Although we were obviously building a nice (to us!) architect designed house, that's not a pre-requisite to passive building. The current estimate is around 5-10% increment on building cost but, as you say, builders have to be educated. It's a pity that the latest building regs backed down significantly from the draft proposals re airtightness, no doubt after heavy lobbying from the big builders!

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

No way. Food colors put into a pond is not eco friendly that is not healthy and not good for the eco system outside.

[@nogginsquared]

It’s a very shallow reflection pool rather than a pond but is a popular drinking centre for birds - they must like the flavour!

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

@@nogginsquared It's not healthy for the birds to drink food colored water. Robert Kennedy will outlaw food colors that are artificially created.

[@nogginsquared]

@@nickidaisydandelion4044 it’s actually a specialist pond dye (Hydra) which is non-toxic and safe for birds, mammals, fish and plants but prevents algae through the lack of light. We don’t have fish, but newts have found their way in from neighbouring ponds. Its main aim is to make the water surface more reflective.

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

@@nogginsquared I would never use any dye or inks at all for natural systems, ponds etc. because even if they say it's safe and non toxic it can contain artificial chemicals which are never good for the animals and eco system. Algae are beneficial for eco systems.

[@AnitaWright-v2s]

Horrible billionaire's squared hole!!!

[@nogginsquared]

We may be horrible, but we're VERY far from billionaires!!! 😉

[@tentontarantula7750]

The dodgy royalty-free music, anxious camerawork and cuts-on-cuts edit makes this a rather less relaxing watch than the subject matter might otherwise afford.

[@audeboutet6059]

Are you for real?

[@Rice-oj6zf]

I disagree

[@AC-wz9tx]

The sheer misery of the KZbin comment section is strong with this one.

[@tentontarantula7750]

@@audeboutet6059 yup pretty cogent critique of the video production

[@tentontarantula7750]

Misery? Bit hyperbolic that isn’t it? Why so hysterical?

[@davidhunternyc1]

Beautiful home and, yes indeed, it is timeless. Building a passive house is noble but, let's get real, don't call it sustainable. For true sustainability, this couple should've moved into a pre-existing 1 bedroom apartment. This home is extravagant, consuming an exorbitant amount of resources. The destruction of our planet continues unabated but for now, enjoy the butterflies.

[@petergallo514]

oh for crying out loud, leave the moles alone....with all your green conceits.

[@1hayes1]

Why do people with millions to spend on an architect-designed house insist that it's all about the oil bills? Eco architecture is just another form of elite consumption.

[@nogginsquared]

“Millions” is a stretch, but why wouldn’t you go as passive as possible in a new house? The “no running costs” is more of a nice byproduct.

[@ilikeboringthings9]

Naff

[@Ericthegreat1483]

Perhaps not boring enough? 🙃

[@syts77]

Good to see a normal couple of man and woman.