WE LEARNED...

DON’T RUSH THROUGH THE DESIGN STAGE. We were so eager to get planning permission and avoid delays that we didn’t challenge any of the design decisions and were quite conservative. Retrospectively, I think we’d have the extension a little bigger and more of a patio leading out on the side where the sun is. Our concerns about getting consent meant we didn’t really push boundaries so have ended up with a much bigger garden than we need.

DON’T SET TIGHT DEADLINES for completion or moving in as this causes you to push the builders too hard. This can result in too many trades working on-site simultaneously and extra stress.

MAKE SURE you have enough of a contingency budget – building a new home is stressful enough without constantly worrying about money.

SPEND AS MUCH TIME as you can visiting showrooms and carefully considering the options available. When you’re investing so much into a project, you need to look at products properly in order to make an informed decision.