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Flat-Pack Timber Boxes Create This Cost-Effective, Modular British Home

Modular, adaptable and cost-effective housing is the need of the hour across the globe. Part of the Custom and Self-Built homes initiative, the Box House in Graven Hill in Bicester serves these needs as it was designed by Studio Bark for young clients who could not build one on their own. The residence feels smart with a flexible design plan that is centered around a double-height dining room and kitchen next to it. Composed of modular ‘cubes’ made up of flat-pack timber building boxes, known as U-Build, the house embraces wood gleefully.

Dark, box-shaped exterior of the house in Bicester

With a dark and dashing façade on the outside and a relaxing, lighter approach when it comes to interior design, you can notice the lovely use of contrasts here. With the flat-pack U-Build system giving the homeowners greater options at lower costs, wastage of material was kept down to a minimum and every inch of space was maximized. Plywood sheets and warmth wooden décor complete a home that was entirely manually built and is green in more ways than one. [Photography: Lenny Codd]

Dashing black exterior of the box-style home in UK
Spacious living room with a sectional that perfectly fits into the corner
Timber boxes add warmth to the house while giving it adaptable style
Light-filled and bright kitchen design in white and wood
Fabulous flat-pack timber building boxes create a gorgeous home in UK
Double-height dining area of the Box House

CSB housing is a spectrum, from true ‘Self-build’, where the client physically builds the house themselves, to ‘custom build’, where the client has design input to an externally procured construction. The young clients for this site were stuck in the middle. They did not have the budget to pay for an external contractor, nor the specialist skills to lead the build process themselves.

Open plan living area, kitchen and dining space of the Box House
Twin orange pendants add color to the neutral kitchen space
View of the bedroom from outside with walls in wood
White and wood color scheme for the modern bathroom
Modern modular bedroom design with woodsy and neutral backdrop
Modular and adaptable home in Bicester, UK

Sherry Nothingam

Sherry is a blogger who loves to live her life to the fullest. She enjoys everything associated with design, décor and stylish modern trends. Born in California, Sherry has grown up on open ranches and in a wild setting, which has defined her taste for design and developed her interest in examining how structures and homes interact with the beauti[...]

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