Our very own Creative Director, Danielle Beeken has been going down the path to building her own home. Along the way, she will be sharing her experience, tips, tricks and lessons learned and documenting the journey here.

4 years and still we haven’t dug a hole!

When it comes to building houses, my interior design experience doesn’t provide a golden ticket to a successful home-building project. Insight and an understanding of how it all comes together, for sure, but external influences, like a Global pandemic, planning application hurdles, and material supply issues are completely out of my control. So, at KINDLY, we thought it might be nice to share my journey through a bespoke home build (trials and tribulations included), and hopefully help our clients to better understand the process. Every single project is a learning experience and building for myself is going to be a first, I have remodeled, completely renovated, and restored, but never from the ground up.

A designers approach  

As designers, we love to get involved at the early stage of a home design, our understanding of how people use the space can save a fortune for homeowners by avoiding silly mistakes. For example, a family of 5 may want to be able to sit comfortably to watch TV together, accommodate additional people on social occasions, and need to have spaces designed with a dual, even triple purpose.

Custom Build Homes

My home is actually one of 5 being built on private land owned by a family member, it’s a collaboration with Custom Build Homes, whereby we get to design a home we want and they then take on the burden of the actual build. The other 4 plots are being offered to potential buyers with services provided and they get to choose the interior layout. The external materials are uniform, but how they are applied varies slightly to create an interesting and unique appeal to each of the homes. Flanked by woodland on one side, and views across green open farmland on another, we hope to create homes that relate to their surroundings. Clever landscaping in the area will enhance this further.

Planning has been approved!

Planning has now been approved and our own home interior details are taking shape. You can see in these images a visual of the overall project with elevations and floor plans, and as our own build develops, I will share with you the progress and the challenges.

Considering your own self-build?

Useful links and resources –

Custom Build Homes - https://custombuildhomes.co.uk/

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre - https://www.nsbrc.co.uk

Build it Live - https://builditlive.co.uk/