Category: House Tours
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Step inside the Homebuilding & Renovating Home of the Year 2025
Seeing the warm, welcoming home that looks totally at one with nature in its hillside setting, it is hard to imagine it was once a 1970s bungalow that had little going for it. With a touch of understatement, Celia McCarthy describes the original property she bought with her husband Keith, as “rather low-spec”. “It was…
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Couple builds dream oak-frame house in Essex
For Marian and John Nash, the dream of owning an oak-frame home began over 40 years ago – that’s when they came across a brochure on homebuilding and were captivated by an open-plan bungalow that featured in it. “We always kept that and said to each other that one day we’d build an oak-frame home…
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Wiltshire riverside self-build with eco-friendly design
Chris Dann has an enduring passion for property and design. “I’ve always had a feeling for homes and space,” he says. And that instinct came into play when he acquired a riverside plot in the heart of a Wiltshire town – land that he bought from his mother. Despite the site being in the centre…
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Couple restore run-down listed house into charming eco home
Falling for the charms of an old property is a common tale, but perhaps less so when your own personal history is intertwined with it. But this was the case for Amanda and Warren East, who had regularly visited the beautiful Grade II*-listed building over the decades. “We were living in the house opposite for…
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Couple convert dated 1930s house into a modern family home
Despite being in the market for a new home, David and Magali weren’t impressed with the Art Deco house they saw for sale just a few streets away from their own home in Forest Hill, south London. “We’d discounted the house in question completely based on how it looked from the outside,” he says. “We…
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Cornwall bungalow turned into stunning house with sea views
As surprises go, a new home by the sea isn’t a bad one. In 2017 Ben and Ruth Prior, and their children, had been visiting the north Cornish coast for over a decade, renting homes each time. “I just thought, ‘Why don’t I buy one?’” says Ben, when he saw an older bungalow in their…
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This oak frame house blends character and modern style
The motives for those who choose to embark on the self-build route are many and varied and for Dawn and Graham Hillier, the practicalities of everyday life were the main factor. The couple were living in a big old farmhouse in Monmouthshire that was cold, draughty, uneconomical to run and increasingly becoming a challenge, particularly…
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Couple transform a 1930s house into an energy-efficient home
Homeowners Loretta and David are used to the construction process – they built their own home in Derbyshire before moving to their Sheffield village 10 years ago. A few years after moving, however, they decided the house was too small for them so the hunt was on for a bigger place. “When we found a…
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Novice self-builders replace old bungalow with modern home
Bidding for a small, damp bungalow at auction was probably reckless, according to the property’s co-owner Ben Humphrey. “We knew the council had already refused a previous planning application for two houses on the plot, but we went ahead and bought the property anyway,” he admits. “As first-time builders, we were rather naive and didn’t…
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Former naval fortress on Pembrokeshire island for sale
Thorne Island, a Grade II* listed coastal fort built in the 1850s as part of the defences of Milford Haven, has been placed on the market for £3 million by Plotfinder. Once a military stronghold guarding one of Britain’s largest natural harbours, the island later became a hotel before being converted into a family home.…