My new-build helped release my creative potential

Gillian, with her husband, Seamus, the manager of a tile store, lived with her parents for four years while they ‘saved like mad’ to buy a house. ‘We love old houses and viewed several, but we couldn’t find one that suited our budget in the location we wanted,’ explains Gillian. The couple wanted to live close to both of their families. ‘That was the most important thing,’ she says. Then they were offered a plot of land on Seamus’ family farm, so they decided to build their ideal home instead. ‘We knew we wanted a house that looked like a farmhouse to the