You wouldn't assume that a £4.5 million house with a helicopter hanger and helipad, party room and recording studio would also be one of the UK's most sustainable homes.
But the Lake House in West Sussex offers the best of both worlds — modern comforts and high eco-credentials.
The ultra-contemporary glass and wood home was designed by husband and wife Tim and Sanne Virdee in collaboration with German company Huf Haus, which produces the ultimate in eco-friendly prefab homes.
The house, which is almost 6,000 sq ft, sits in 21 acres of protected
Nestled in nature, the home is centred around smart technology, including touch screens that control the heating, lighting and external security blinds.
The open-plan kitchen/living area is purposefully designed for entertaining. Then there's an additional "party room" that has a pool table, bespoke bar and Tim's drum kit plus other party-essentials such as a wired-in karaoke machine, smoke machine, lasers and disco ball.
It also has five en-suite bedrooms, a cinema room and tennis courts.
Further buildings house an air-conditioned helicopter hanger, a wine store, 'man cave', triple garage, and separate guest quarters.
There is underfloor heating and LED-lighting throughout the house and the outdoor eating area is heated for year-round alfresco dining.
Yet, incredibly, no fossil fuels are used to power the home, which is run on a geothermal heating system; even the waste is dealt with by a biodigester.
The couple's main objective was to "bring the outside in" and the Huf Haus design allowed 90 per cent of the back of the property to be triple-glazed, maximising natural light.
This design also beautifully frames the views that extend across 10-acres of bluebell woodland, a three-acre rainbow trout lake with a pontoon and island and a three-acre wildflower meadow — a mammoth landscaping project taken on by Sanne.
"It's seamless when you're looking out towards the meadows and lake, all you can see is nature. Right now I'm watching half a dozen ducks on the lake and a magpie on the lawn," says Tim.
"The only difference is it's very quiet. It can be raining very heavily outside but you can't hear a thing. It's magical."
The couple built their dream family home for themselves and their two children in 2006, but have decided it's time to move on and have already located potential plots of land for their next project, which will not be a Huf Haus — "we've done that already" — but will keep to the principles of lots of glass and a low carbon footprint.
"We've had a lot of fun and raised the kids in the country as we wanted to, but it's now time for the next family to enjoy what we've created," says Virdee.
They decided to put the home up for sale with Emoov as they want to show prospective buyers around themselves.
"Nobody knows this house better than us," says Tim. "We designed every detail, down to the door handles."
The property is located on a cul-de-sac, which is a mile and a half long and only has four houses. Yet it also offers easy access to Billinghurst and Haslemere train stations, which provide links to Waterloo and Victoria in less than an hour and is well located for private schools.
