Wheel of good fortune

A young couple seeking their first home together in Cumbria brought in family help to maximise the benefits of a site that once housed a water mill, and on which now sits their four-bed property TEXT LAURA SHADWELL IMAGES LUCY... View Article

Petit Chablis

John and Julia Abbey overcame language barriers and complex regulations to successfully renovate a dilapidated property in the Chablis region of France, creating their dream home with a ‘gite on the side’ TEXT HEATHER DIXON IMAGES JOHN & JULIA ABBEY... View Article

In pursuit of peace

By having their own ‘forever’ house built on the grounds of the long-standing family home in the village of Dinnington, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Alison and Jonathan Berry have found peace, in all senses of the word TEXT JAYNE DOWLE... View Article

A green gift for mum & dad

Octogenarians Keith and Ann Lewis’ new home was not just a labour of love, but a real family affair, with the couple engaging the services of their son and daughter-in-law to create a self-build that combines barn-inspired architecture with ecology-friendly... View Article

Natural remedies

Architect Ben Ridley used all of his expertise to upgrade an ageing London dwelling to create a low energy home for his family, whose minimalist interiors bring a focus on the natural materials used TEXT TOM BODDY IMAGES LORENZO ZANDRI... View Article

Classical concert

Imagination and creative space planning saw an Edinburgh apartment refurb bring all the elements together to give the owners the ideal composition TEXT NIK HUNTER IMAGES ZAC+ZAC When grandparents Alan Patrick and Cynthia Croatti spotted this West End apartment in... View Article

Sheffield steel

Kitchen thieves, a collapsing roof, and then a pandemic would be enough to make anyone throw in the towel on a renovation project, but Suzanne and David Williamson are made of sterner stuff TEXT & IMAGES HEATHER DIXON The Williamsons... View Article

Best of both worlds

Dealing with planners can be a frustrating business, but to modernise a substantial Victorian building in Devon, Geoff Hall also had to negotiate heritage surveyors, ecologists, conservationists and archaeologists TEXT EWEN MACDONALD IMAGES CO CREATE ARCHITECTS A ramshackle 19th century home... View Article

Converted to Class Q

For Kat & Tris Baxter-Smith, the challenge of converting an agricultural barn on the farm belonging to Tris’ family – to his own design – became a lesson in the pros and cons of Class Q permitted development  TEXT ROSEANNE... View Article

Fit for purpose

During their long saga to build a home with stables on an exposed site on the west coast of Scotland, David and Louisa Wallace discovered that bigger isn’t necessarily better when they had to edit their plans down TEXT NIK... View Article

A small victory

As an owner of a company that designs and builds furniture, Hamish Forbes wasn’t initially daunted by a full renovation of his one bedroom cottage in the west of Scotland. However, he soon realised small doesn’t always mean simple TEXT... View Article

John forges the right result

When John Wilkinson took the decision to buy a run down former blacksmith’s cottage just outside York, he wasn’t quite prepared for the renovation journey that lay in front of him TEXT HEATHER DIXON IMAGES DAVE BURTON John Wilkinson felt... View Article

Retiring – but far from shy

Realising their Victorian house would be unsuitable as they approached retirement, Elaine and Tom Devine decided to take matters into their own hands and tackle a new build in their garden, but their timber-framed project faced some planning battles TEXT... View Article

The best laid plans

Getting a contemporary bungalow design in south London through planning proved to be a nightmare for Giancarlo Rubano. However, with a combination of his dogged determination, support from parents and architects, and some design compromises, he succeeded TEXT TOM BODDY... View Article

Barn to be wild

A couple in Yorkshire with construction know-how were not intimidated by the prospect of redeveloping an old barn as their home, but its still proved a major challenge TEXT HEATHER DIXON IMAGES BEVAN COCKERILL Friends of Gareth and Rebecca Connell... View Article

A different angle

Architect Lanre Falase adapted an existing design to create a striking home for his family in south London, full of unique quirks and clever elements that maximise its tight, triangular site TEXT TOM BODDY IMAGES LUKASZ WIELKOSZYNSKI & BOLANS ARCHITECTS... View Article

Søren’s Scandi fashion house

A Danish minimalism-inspired renovation of a former fashion showroom in a prime west London site has resulted in a light, elegant home which has its owners’ sense of style, and a ‘Hygge’ feel TEXT TOM BODDY IMAGES RACHAEL SMITH, STÅLE... View Article

The trails all lead home

Calum and Gladys Trail looked at a lot of options for pursuing a self-build, and they managed to find the answer under their noses, on their existing site in the north east of Scotland TEXT TOM BODDY IMAGES NEIL GORDON... View Article

Raising the roof

When David and Lisa Collins’ circumstances changed, a tired 1960s bungalow in Leeds offered not only the chance to build their dream house, but also gave them the perfect opportunity to move nearer to their daughter TEXT HEATHER DIXON IMAGES... View Article

Brave new home

After an almost traumatic experience with her first self-build, Poppy Robinson bravely decided to take on another, conquering her fears to produce a bright and eco-friendly forever home TEXT TOM BODDY IMAGES NICK AUSTWICK PHOTOGRAPHY & ORIGIN On the Lincolnshire... View Article