“We self-built with our neighbours”

Dawn and Kevin Truscott were looking for a plot in their Essex village but struggled to find somewhere suitable within budget. However, when chatting with her neighbour Sarah Switzer over a glass of wine they discovered they were both hoping to self-build. A 1.8-acre field nearby had lain empty and overgrown since the 1960s but had come across a stumbling block: the owner wouldn’t sell in portioned-off sections.

“The star of the show is the oak frame — it was about capturing the essence of the character without going overboard with oak ”