Delighted to be

@Gerry_warren

When Tamasin and Andy Jarrett spotted a plot of land for sale on the outskirts of Canterbury they had a vision of building their dream home.

Now, and more than half-a-million pounds later, they are enjoying the fruits of their labour after moving into the contemporary four-bedroom house in Barham.

The trials and tribulations of the ambitious project have featured on Channel 4’s Building the Dream, with the family living in a caravan during the nine-month construction.

But they say the effort and inconvenience has been worth it, because after a total cost of £533,000 – including £150,000 for the plot – the property in Derringstone Hill has now been valued at £900,000.

Tamasin, 39, who is partnerships co-ordinator at the King’s School in Canterbury, is delighted to be settling into their new home.

“We previously lived in an 18thcentury cottage in Barham for 13 years and spent most of our time maintaining it,” she said.

“We sold it to help fund the build but I really never thought we’d have anywhere like this. It’s very special.”

Tamasin and Andy did not always see eye to eye with Building the Dream presenter Charlie Luxton, who was there to offer his advice on the project.

His suggestions on the arrangements of a couple of the rooms, how certain doors should open and shelving in the kitchen were swiftly dismissed by Andy, who works in town planning for Shepway District Council.

And even Tamasin had to press for her ideas to make it more homely against Andy’s preferred minimalist taste.

But one thing they were all agreed on was maximising the views over the surrounding countryside and an impressive atrium in the hall which floods the property with light.

But as the budget got squeezed with must-haves, like a high-spec kitchen, they feared they would not even be able to furnish the property

Andy, 58, said: “We went about £23,000 over budget and about a couple of weeks over the build schedule, which wasn’t too bad.

“We thought it might be worth about £750,000 but it has turned out much better than expected. We are beginning a new chapter and it’s very exciting.”

One of the first potential obsta-

Inside the home built by Andy and Tamasin