Glass reigns supreme at the greenhouse-esque Garden House, which occupies a secluded half-acre in a walled Georgian garden in Southwell.

Allan Joyce Architects designed the seven-bedroom house, which has been home to the Joyce family for the last 20 years. Joyce and his partner, landscape designer Anna Joyce, bought the walled garden site in 1986 and finished transforming it from its derelict state in 2000.

Part of the home is built into the earth to reduce heat loss while the rest of the Nottinghamshire property is airy and light in appearance, thanks to its abundance of timber-framed glass. Bedrooms branch off from a long hallway, set beneath a bank of skylights while living spaces open onto the home’s double-height winter garden.

Balconies overlooking the conservatory are designed to create what Anna Joyce describes as ‘a floating feeling’, thanks to gaps between the floorboards. These are good spots to survey the surrounding gardens and unruly resident chickens.

Allan Joyce installed various energy-saving features into the Garden House – listed with The Modern House for £1.6m – including rainwater harvesting, solar collection, and super insulation. The architect has also soundproofed the bedrooms.

But practicality aside, the pair emphasise that the home is playful at heart, and full of ‘games, little tricks and humour,’ as Anna puts it. There’s a ‘secret’ bathroom to be discovered, as well as pond stepping stones, and a wine rack that hides a staircase to the roof garden.

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