Tag: #growyourown #self-sufficent #newhome

The best books to inspire your self-build project

A self-build project is never undertaken lightly and many people spend years planning their dream home before turning it into a reality.

A large number of our customers would probably say that the dreaming and planning was half the fun of the project, long before the hard work started!

So many books, so little time?

A self-build project is never undertaken lightly and many people spend years planning their dream home before turning it into a reality. A large number of our customers would probably say that the dreaming and planning was half the fun of the project, long before the hard work started!

In an earlier blog, we talked about the best TV programmes to help inspire you as you embark on your self-build adventure. For many of us, leafing through a book is another great way to find new ideas, pick up some top tips and conjure up a vision of what your perfect self-build might look like. Here are just a few of our favourite homebuilding reads.

Grand Designs by Kevin McCloud

The TV programme is always top of our TV list and this book is fabulous too. Architecture and design guru Kevin McCloud shares his views that ‘houses too can be architecture’ through three sections of Thinking, Dreaming and Doing, based around three locations – Urban, Suburban and Rural. Some of the most memorable houses from the TV series are featured, and there really is something to suit everyone’s taste, no matter the scope and scale of the project.

Housebuilder’s Bible by Mark Brinkley

Described as ‘the go-to title’ for the UK’s army of self-builders and renovators, this book has sold over 175,000 copies, making it the best-selling guidebook in this area. Author Mark Brinkley worked as a builder and developer, and the book is based around his experiences and observations. He carried out an eco-renovation on his first house, and went on to build his own home so he really has ‘walked the walk’. 

Self build and Renovation for Dummies by Nicholas Walliman

The author is a professional architect and lecturer in building construction. He built his own home and has since worked on numerous self-build and renovation projects. As the title implies, this book is very readable, using easy to understand English and assumes only a basic level of knowledge.

Building Your Own Home by David Snell

This ‘fully illustrated bible’ is full of interesting information, from buying a plot to choosing a design. There are some fascinating case studies too, detailing challenges faced by self-builders.

Contemporary Homes 3: Inspirational Individually Designed Homes

If you are looking for a beautiful book to admire and dip into when you have a few moments, look no further than this beautiful book from Homebuilding and Renovating Magazine. It showcases 39 individually designed homes. It’s not just for admiring though, it’s also a practical guide, detailing how the houses were conceived and built.

100 Of The World’s Best Houses by Catherine Slessor

Exactly as the title describes, some of the houses created by some of the greatest architects in the world are featured in this book. Whether you dream of an urban villa, a country retreat or a stunning beach house, you will find plenty to inspire you here.

The Iconic House by Dominic Bradbury and Richard Powers

Featuring more than 100 of the most influential houses built around the world since 1900, this fantastic book shows an appreciation of utilising local materials and building traditions and the importance of understanding clients’ needs.

Architects’ Houses by Michael Webb

If you’re interested in in what inspires architects and the constraints they face, then this is the book for you. Thirty of the world’s most talented architects talk about the houses they designed for themselves over the past decade in Architects’ Houses.

While books are a great source of inspiration and ideas, remember that planning regulations, costs and local conditions are subject to change at any time. Always check the latest advice and guidance with professionals before making any decisions. Talk to our self-build experts to find out more.

Top of the crops – becoming self-sufficient

An ideal for many people is to become self-sufficient. Living ‘the good life’, with an environmentally-friendly ‘grow-your-own’ food mentality, is now perhaps more relevant today than ever before. The idea that people can use their outdoor space to sustain their own produce is appealing, as many of us have gardens or other external areas that can be put to good use in interesting, cost-efficient and productive ways.

Self-sufficient – growing your own fruit and veg

Perhaps the most enjoyable and rewarding garden activity – aside from reclining on a sun lounger – is growing your own food. As we approach autumn, traditionally associated with gathering the crops and harvesting, it’s a good time to think about how next year you could be growing something yourself in your own garden. We’re not a Mediterranean country and our climate may be a bit too northern for many of the more exotic fruit and veg we’ve become used to seeing all year around on supermarket shelves, but there’s still an extensive range of options when it comes to UK growers who want to be a little self-sufficient.

Big ideas for small spaces

The extent to which you can embark on being self-sufficient by growing in your garden is obviously dependent on available space. Some new-build properties maximise the use of land on interiors and keep the outdoor areas to the minimum for low maintenance purposes. However, even in a relatively confined enclosure, just about anything can be grown on some scale – for example, in pots, tubs or in borders – as long as it gets some sunshine. Some plants obviously need more room to grow than others. Potatoes, with their bushy leaves and clusters of underground spuds, require space for each plant, while runner beans may not require much in land area, but can grow up canes vertically over six feet high.

Good candidates for borders or fences are bushy fruits, such as blackberries or gooseberries, while there are many smaller veg plants – peas, carrots or sprouts – that can be used to fill-out border areas, or sunny corners. Salad vegetables such as lettuce, onions, shallots, radish and tomatoes are ideal accompaniments to mealtimes and relatively easy to grow in your garden. And a greenhouse can offer improved growing conditions and a better climate, if you’ve got enough room to put one up.    

Another option is orchard crops. Apple, pear and plum trees are all easily cultivated in the UK and depending on their size (and the weather next year) can bear quite a crop of fruit. Gone are the days of a herb garden or cress being the limit to which urban gardeners can aspire, with a range of imaginative planters available at garden centres or DIY shops.

Plant your garden imaginatively, to make it a space that you can still enjoy, while watching parts of it flourish into your next salad.  Country or urban, it doesn’t matter, as long as you have space of some kind and the patience that it takes to grow your own and enjoy your own ‘good life’.

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