WE LEARNED...

ACT QUICKLY when you spot a plot you like. Before we found this site I’d already been interested in two others that had fallen through. Don’t drag your feet or you risk losing the opportunity altogether.

GETTING AN ARCHITECT ON BOARD will help pave the way for a smooth planning process. Hire a professional that knows what they’re doing and trust them – they can add real value to your project.

WHEN DOING A LOT OF THE WORK yourself, it’s easy to get stuck at a close-up level of all the details. But you can’t let ultra-high standards hold you back too much. I found it helpful to try to look at the bigger picture from time-to-time. Creating a programme of works and ticking things off as I went through was very satisfying.

IT WOULD HAVE MADE SENSE to construct the outbuilding, which now accommodates my workshop before the main dwelling. That way, I’d have had a good space to work in throughout the build.