Built in 15 WEEKS!
This beautiful two-bedroomed oak frame home won the spirit of self-build award for a reason - the tenacity and vision of homeowner Samantha Parr and the skill of her local build team
WORDS Michelle Guy
PHOTOGRAPHY Jeremy Phillips
THE PLOT The house resides on a 10m x 14m plot. Samantha managed to incorporate a courtyard adjacent to the entrance, which is tucked away for a private place to sit and let her two dogs run around in. The second bedroom has a terrace and the first floor living space opens up onto a balcony, which takes in the views of trees beyond.
HOMEOWNER Samantha Parr LOCATION South Staffordshire PROJECT Oak frame self-build BUILD ROUTE Project managed subcontractors BUILD SIZE 140m2 BUILD TIME 15 weeks PLOT COST Already owned BUILD COST £175k CURRENT VALUE £425k
When a turn of events meant Samantha Parr had to move out of and sell her family home in a beautiful South Staffordshire village, she wanted to find a way to stay on the high street she’d grown to love over the past 20 years. Never one to shirk a challenge, Samantha had the idea of turning a redundant garage she owned at the back of the high street into a home on a plot no bigger than 140m2. “Most people I told said I’d never get planning to build on the site but I’m one of these people who see an opportunity and thinks ‘let’s go for it!’ So I blindly went ahead and put plans in anyway,” recalls Samantha.
And she was right to go ahead. The planning process was pretty straightforward. Conditions were placed only on the fabric and materials used for the building (the cladding, bricks and roof tiles) because the plot resides in a conservation area.