Brian Page is entranced by a hugely individual, stylish eco home – and its enthusiastic creators.

David Downie arrives at the door, whirlwind fashion. “Come in, come in,” he invites in a dancing Scots brogue. “Come in and have a look around.”

Within seconds he is bouncing around the open spaces of the house, pointing to the beautiful solid maple hardwood flooring, the custom-made oak kitchen, the Norwegian timber windows.

“Look at all the light coming in,” he says. “This is a lovely light and airy house.”

David Downie is nothing if not enthusiastic... he and his wife, Eileen, both just love building homes... just love it.

And why not? They build homes in their own image. Enthusiastic, lively, highly individual properties that sparkle like a great conversation.

I first met the couple many years ago when they transformed an area of traditional three-bed semis in Trentholme Drive with the creation of a highly modern and definitely different home where the living areas were on the top floor (along with a superb terrace) and the bedrooms below.

“Think about it,” David told me at the time. “The upper floors of a house always have more light and better views. So why waste them on rooms you only use in the dark!’ The Downies have completed several of their imaginative designs since then – and here I am in their latest, a breathtaking new home in Church’s Yard, Kilburn Road, off the city end of Fulford Road.

The Downie’s delight in difference is evident from the start. In a road where, again, the houses are very traditional, they have created a home which stands out – and yet fits in.

This is a remarkable achievement, given that this is a house primarily built of cedar wood, as opposed to the traditional rendered or red brick fascias of its neighbours.

The fresh, clean look of quality worked wood abounds inside as well as out, including those timber window frames, the kitchen work surfaces which blend oak with ash inlays and those maple floors.

And how well they have used the light and space on this ground floor, creating living, breathing, open-plan living/dining/kitchen areas.

The kitchen is a delight, with bespoke wall and base units, superbly crafted, and with a central breakfast bar island and exposed brickwork. This is open to a dining area, built as a booth around a table and with a multi-fuel stove at its heart (more of this later). “It has a bit of a café bar feel to it,” says David. “That’s why we bought the booth, to add to that affect.”

This area is, again, open to a further space, a great living area with doors which open to the garden (or somewhere you could use for more formal dining). There is also covered terrace off the kitchen, ideal for al-fresco dining or just simply sitting and enjoying a glass of wine.

There’s more here, too. Across the lawned garden you find a detached home office and a separate store (just the job for tucking away the bicycles if you are the energetic type).

Back inside, Eileen shows me a ground floor bedroom and a hideaway of her very own, an office/den, before we trip up the (natural wood) stairs to the first floor.

Here, true to form, the Downies have made a large living room with doors which open on to a terrace (another grand spot for wine-drinking – though we’d never suggest this is a couple who like a glass or two…) And there is cleverness here… “We like it as a living room,” Eileen says, “but we’ve designed it so that you could partition the room and have it as two spaces, two bedrooms if you wanted to do that.”

So much forethought has been in use here that they have skilfully hidden a doorway behind the partition wall and even have a spare, matching door to fit it.

It’s such a beautiful, light and bright space, however, that it would seem a shame. It’s also a very warm space… as they have done in previous homes, the Downies have been super eco-aware and the room is heated by a pipe running up from that stove downstairs.

Indeed, such are the insulation standards, the measures taken to reduce wasted energy, that this is a house with one of York’s first Code for Sustainable Homes classifications.

This room also has a high mezzanine storage level. “It’s where I keep my money,” laughs David, “where Eileen can’t get to it.” (Eileen being somewhat shorter than David).

It’s a wrench to move on but there is still time to see the master bedroom, with a dressing room off, and a luxurious contemporary bathroom.

All-in-all, a superb, imaginative and atmospheric contemporary home, another tribute to the imagination of this imaginative couple.

The story doesn’t end here, however. There are plans to build two further houses, of similar but not identical ilk, on adjoining land, the site of the former Christian Science Church (a church that won’t be disappearing spiritually or physically, as a new, smaller, church is to be built on the land).

A church designed by the Downies... now that should be something worth seeing!

*If you’re interested in this super modern home, then contact selling agents Blenkin and Co on 01904 671672. The price guide is £425,000.