March 2015

Welcome to the March edition of i-build magazine! This issue is packed with inspirational projects and products as well as useful advice for your self-build.

People become self-builders and renovators for all kinds of reasons – be it a life-long dream, or inability to find a home on the market that suits their criteria. Everyone moves into a new home with the view to make it their own, but some are more ambitious than others.

This month’s Urban Sanctuary demonstrates extraordinary vision in creating an open-plan house flooded with natural sunlight, regardless of its inner-city location. The owners, Jack and Georgia Giles, were inspired by a renovation that their neighbours had completed and decided to employ the same architects to transform their London terrace. Read about this impressive project on page 20.

Another renovation that has been modified to make the most of its space is the Purley on Thames property presented on page 28. The Browns took this project at their own pace, recognising this as an opportunity to create a home tailored specifically to them. The couple lived in the home over the three years that it took to renovate and are thrilled with the end result.

As always, this issue is packed full of guidance to help you make the right choices amidst a journey full of difficult, and sometimes daunting, decisions, be it kitchen, furniture or complementing tones. If you are unsure about approaching your interior’s colour scheme then interior designer Nicky Mudie is here to help with guidance on how to decorate your home in shades that suit your style in this month’s i-nterior. Perhaps your self-build concern is deciding between using traditional and modern construction methods – on page 42 timber frame specialist Simon Orrells presents the advantages of modern systems.

We hope you enjoy this issue as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. If you are coming to the end of your self-build journey and would like to offer your home as inspiration to other budding self-builders within an i-build feature, please contact me on the usual address with a brief overview of your project.