Floating homes and stilts in Britain to face flood risk

Unlike many of their neighbours living near the banks of the River Thames in southwest England, Martin and Joanna worry little about their charming country home being engulfed by floods.

Wary of the dangers posed by climate change and a history of disastrous flooding in this pretty part of Oxfordshire, an hour's drive from London, the couple have opted for a home built half a metre off the ground on 27 steel pillars.

"It's always been a dream to build this house," said Joanna O'Callaghan.

"It was clear that we had to build up above the flood plain."

Their home contrasts with the mostly red-brick, wooden-beamed houses that dot the area of picturesque villages, castles and hills, which attracts city dwellers on weekends, like Prime Minister David Cameron, who owns a home nearby.

The O'Callaghans' home is spacious with a footprint of 130 square metres (1,400 square foot). Natural light bathes the airy, white, interlocking living areas.

Outside, the home is clad in timber panels for aesthetic effect and to improve insulation.

The interiors are a sleek marriage of form and function, giving the dwelling a Scandinavian feel.

But the key feature of the house, built in 2014, is a design that should spare the couple from floods that have affected homes in the area in recent years.