Paul Archer Design looked to Wivenhoe’s maritime past for this contemporary house off the Essex coast. Completed in 2023, the wood-clad structure stands within the Lower Wivenhoe Conservation Area, its dark Siberian larch walls and twin pitched zinc roofs referencing the boat-building sheds that once lined the estuary.

Inside, the mood changes. Eleven rooflights bring daylight into tall white-painted rooms, where exposed timber beams and polished concrete floors run through a bubblegum-pink kitchen. Triple-glazed sliding doors open the main living spaces to a planted courtyard, with silver birch and mimosa visible through the glass.

The house is divided between two connected volumes arranged around the garden. An air-source heat pump provides underfloor heating and hot water, with mechanical ventilation and heat recovery also installed. It’s listed with a guide price of £850,000.

Wivenhoe sits on the banks of the River Colne, which widens into an estuary before reaching the North Sea. The village has long attracted artists and writers, while footpaths follow the surrounding salt marshes and shoreline. Wivenhoe station is around five minutes away on foot, with direct trains to London Liverpool Street taking approximately an hour.