Coming home

First-time self-builders Lucy and John Hardwick have chosen the turnkey route to build their charming oak frame home in Northamptonshire

Turnkey building solutions are becoming an increasingly popular and enticing way to achieve a bespoke home. First-time self-builders Lucy and John Hardwick chose to go down this route so they could carry on working full-time, and to avoid any pitfalls that would cost them precious time and money. "John has always wanted to build his own house so we registered for notification of land becoming available in the area," begins Lucy. "A piece of land came up close to where we work, which was originally part of a big house [sold off separately] and used for horses for a few years.

"We bid on it and started the journey, not thinking for a minute we would actually get it!" 

PLANNING IS GRANTED

The plot in question had planning permission granted for a house but the couple didn't like the design that came with the plot. They knew they wanted a home with character and a meeting with Oakwrights sold them on the idea of an oak frame home. "We met Tim Crump from Oakwrights at a Homebuilding & Renovating Show, who introduced us to Pete Tonks, an Oakwrights regional architectural designer, who eventually took on the design contract for us. Pete's brother also became our project manager," Lucy explains. With the help of Pete, plans were resubmitted. "The land is in a conservation area and our material choices and some glazed sections were rejected by the conservation officer," explains John. "Eventually we had to go to committee and it finally went through." With the green light for their new home, Lucy and John could begin building.

Oak posts help to zone the living and dining spaces while keeping the openplan feel. "We wanted to join up the kitchen and seating area so the idea of a gin bar evolved," says Lucy. "We had an island in our last house and love sitting around it when someone is cooking so we knew we wanted that to be the central focus."