Self builders’ property dreams come true in the first series of Building the Dream

Architectural designer, Charlie Luxton, believes it is possible to build your perfect home – and for less than it would cost to buy a ready-made property. Proving the point, Charlie has been messing about on the river, in Staines, Surrey, with Potton self builders, Bill & Angie Jenkins, in the new series, Building the Dream on More 4.

The show followed the Jenkins family, as they knocked down their old and cold bungalow on the banks of the River Thames and built a new home that’s much more deserving of the stunning location.

With similar homes on this stretch of the Thames valued at over £1 million, Bill and Angie hoped to build their dream home and save thousands by opting to build rather than buy.

Using Potton’s £3,000 bespoke design and planning service the Jenkins worked with the company’s designers to create a stunning new home, to replace their old one.

“We got planning permission in eight weeks and it was all down to Potton,” says Bill.

Potton’s self build show centre at St Neots twice provided a wealth of information so they opted to visit once before the build started and once again half way through.

“We wanted ideas about what we could do internally,” explains Bill.

Charlie followed their build over 6 months and helped by providing useful finishing touches including a ‘must-have’ walk-in wardrobe and suggestions on how to create a stylish bathroom.

The cost to knock it down and start again was £232,730. The reward? A stunning 3 bedroom thermally efficient home providing open plan living and stunning views up and down the river Thames which is now worth just under £1m. Not surprisingly, the couple have also been nominated for the 2013 Build It Awards – for best use of timber frame.

Bill and Angie are 1 of around 15,000 couples who build their own home every year. Their experience proves that the best way to afford a property that would fit their brief entirely is to build from scratch. Get it right, and it’s possible to save tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds – and have the property of your dreams. Get it wrong, and it can cost a fortune.

Potton take the stress out of self build by handholding customers through the entire process. The company works hard to tailor both the design and the service provision to suit the customers’ individual tastes, experience and lifestyle requirements.

For more information on the Jenkins self build experience and Potton’s self build design and services provision, log on to potton.co.uk.