Made to measure

Sue and Greg Smith only wanted to build their own oak frame home if it could match their exact requirements – luckily, help was at hand

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According to Sue Smith, her husband ultimately takes credit for the beautiful home they now have. 'Building our own place was something Greg had always wanted to do, which prompted us to explore the idea further,' she says. 'We spent a long time scouring magazines to glean ideas regarding the style of house we wanted, and we also visited several homebuilding shows.' In 2018, having researched all the options and the different companies offering a custom-build service, Sue finally said to Greg, 'If we're going to do this, it has to be with Border Oak,' and their journey began.

LOOKING FOR A PLOT

The next step was to find the right spot to build on, and the one that caught the couple's imagination was 150 miles away from their house in Hampshire. 'We knew it meant leaving our family home and the area we had lived in for 30 years, but the site had so much going for it that we felt the move was worth it,' says Greg. Located outside a small village in Herefordshire, the brownfield site - located on top of a hill and with 'superb' views - already had planning approval for a detached property designed by Border Oak and would accommodate three other houses, which was perfect for Sue, who says, 'We both wanted to have neighbours, but not too many.'

One thing that didn't quite work for the couple was the look of the home - the approved plans were for a farmhouse-style home, whereas Sue and Greg leant more towards a barn style. Sue duly sketched her own revisions to the plans, which included much more glazing to make the most of the views, plus each bedroom had to be en suite.