With clever design and careful planning, it’s possible to build a bespoke home on a tight budget. Check out this selection of affordable homes to spark inspiration for your own project
House with a view
The owner of this house, Peter Finlayson, selected R.House’s RB2 design for his rural holiday home overlooking Loch na Cairidh on the Isle of Skye. Keen to enjoy a smooth, stress-free process, Peter opted for the company’s full turnkey package, achieving a full build cost of £191,000.
Based in Skye, R.House has an attractive portfolio of existing designs that have been developed to sit harmoniously within the island’s stunning rural scenery. The single-storey RB2 design selected by Peter features two double bedrooms, a family bathroom and a stunning open-plan kitchen-living-dining area. Full-height windows have been incorporated to maximise the unbeatable views of the loch. As well as providing the structural components for the build, R.House took care of the planning process, building warrant, groundworks and utility connections, guiding the self-builders through to completion.
Hands-on approach
The owners of this house, Alison Bunyan and her husband Gerald, weren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and take on some of the work themselves when it came to completing their £250,000 self-build.
Driven by the desire to create a house that required little to no heating, they chose MBC Timber Frame’s passive timber frame system because of its excellent thermal credentials. Alison and Gerald first came across MBC at a self-build exhibition in Kent.
“Seeing an example of MBC’s passive wall immediately caught my attention,” says Alison. “I wanted to know more, so they organised a visit to a previous client in Gillingham, which confirmed that I’d found the supplier of our new house.”
Once the timber frame works had been completed by MBC, the couple tackled an array of jobs including installing ducting for the mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) system, fitting the weatherboarding, building and installing the kitchen and laying the flooring. They even hosted a ‘plasterboarding party’ one Easter weekend when their five children and their partners came over to board out the entire house as a team.
Architectdesigned abode
T.A.P Architects designed this modern home in the Scottish Borders. Completed with a construction budget of £220,000, the property design responds directly to the unique characteristics of the sloping woodland plot. A key goal was to minimise impact on the surrounding mature trees, leading T.A.P to develop an interesting terraced design that kept the amount of excavation required to a minimum. The internal levels of the house follow the gradient of the hillside. The main l
