A Grand Design near Horsham that reinvents the bungalow

To describe Pavello as a bungalow is like simply calling Pele a footballer.

However that is exactly how the dad of owner Clinton Dall refers to the stunning modern home near Horsham.

It may look familiar to fans of Grand Designs, as the six-bedroom property not only starred on the show but – according to Clinton – may have clinched the fiercely-fought title of being its most expensive build.

“Five-star seems to be double the cost of four-star, but I have no regrets. The house is stunning, there is no compromise,” he reveals.

“I went down that route and I carried on that route. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I got the planning I wanted so I wanted to do it in a really good way.”

Clinton, who runs a security and cleaning company, describes property as his ‘hobby’ and said his brief here was ‘to build a nice house for me and my family’.

“There was a older house on the plot which wasn’t really great so I got planning and knocked that down. It was just really obvious, it had a great entrance and private location – I don’t think the house was suitable,” he recalls. “I have built one house before which was about seven miles up the road from here, that was nice but it wasn’t everything I wanted.

“With this, I pretty much had free rein.”

The result is a striking design, radiating from a spacious living room and kitchen to create the epitome of open plan living.

A clever, and generous, use of glass, sliding doors and impressive scale, blur the edges while a commitment to the high-end makes for a stylish statement.

It is confident, to the point you can’t imagine it being any other way – so it is surprising to learn things could have been very different.

“I just had the vision of building a very modern house, initially the house – which I designed with a friend of mine – had a master bedroom up on the first floor with a balcony but I wasn’t sure I liked the look of it,” Clinton reveals.

Admitting that the cost was the only thing that scared him about the project, he insists embarking on your own build is something he’d encourage.

“When you do your own building, you get want you want. If you do a refurbishment there is always something that isn’t right – the bathroom isn’t big enough or it doesn’t face the right way,” Clinton explains.

The bespoke nature of Pavello is such that it feel like a gallery, the chic integrated kitchen applies bold splashes of black and chrome, the chairs a burst of orange and a statue - intended for outside - has a place at the top of the table.

“I had a lot of the furniture made, everything is super sized, so you have to be careful to get the right pieces,” says Clinton. “Even the floor tiles are 1.2 sqm.

“Too often, on the TV programmes, I see people do a great building and they take their old furniture and plop it in, it ruins it.

“I have a sneaking feeling that the person who buys this will want to buy a lot of the stuff as well, I would be surprised if they didn’t.”

A desire to keep creating is a key reason the property finds itself on the market now.

“I have a plot of land in Spain and I don’t have any money, so if I want to build there I have to sell this,” he admits. “I would build another here, perhaps half the size, and another in Spain.”

When asked if there are elements he’d look to replicate, Clinton reveals his plans are to start with a blank canvas.

“It would be boring doing the same thing again, it would be easier and I would know the costs but I don’t think it would get me excited,” he smiles. “It would be almost like you doing a painting, it comes out well, so you copy it. Whereas it would be nice to do another painting.”

Pavello at a glance

Key features: Five/six bedrooms, open plan living, swimming pool, gym and health suite.

Land: Secluded grounds, surrounded by woodland, spanning 5.1 acres accessed via security gate.

Situation: Wooded glade, four miles to the east of Horsham town centre adjacent to St. Leonard’s Forest.