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Royan and Helen Anthony spent two years searching for a smaller home in and around their Cheshire village with little success. Instead, the couple decided to build on the large paddock next to their farmhouse.
The couple started to explore the idea of self-building. ‘Helen was adamant she wanted to live in a house with character. Once we discovered we both liked oak frame, we searched companies online and Welsh Oak Frame was one that came up.’
‘We had no idea if we could afford to build in oak and Welsh Oak Frame were the only ones willing to be straight, giving us rough figures for a budget, luxury or mid-range house, so we knew we could pursue the project,’ says Royan. ‘Everyone else wanted a formal meeting to discuss our plans and I didn’t want the hard sell.’
The Anthony’s designer at Welsh oak frame, suggested they go away and separately write down what they wanted – they presented their ideas to him.
‘Remarkably, the designer said he knew the house for us both and showed us a design and photos of one of their previous projects’. The couple loved it. They decided to tweak the design by having fewer oak beams, a glass balustrade running across the landing and an open plan layout.
‘Open plan is a different living experience from our old home, but it suits the way we live now,’ he says. ‘The glass is fantastic, and we like the way Welsh Oak Frame have angled our house on the plot as we get the sun all day at the back.’
The couple’s planning application sailed through in eight weeks and building work started six months later. Royan, a production engineer and experienced project manager, hired local contractors, working through the project in fifteen months. He says that Welsh Oak Frame were ‘patient and supportive’ throughout.
For the Anthony’s, building an oak frame house has been the perfect solution to their house-hunting conundrum, giving them a home they’re both proud of.
