Chess Valley

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Determined to create a home that reflects their backgrounds, Zimbabwean born Davi and Matt from Australia set out to build a house with a radical multicultural design, especially daring for their commuter-belt suburb. Despite their lack of experience and the scale and technical difficulty of the build, including a steeply sloping site, Davi and Matt decide to manage the venture themselves. Drawing on skills from their jobs in finance and digital product design, they plan every aspect to the hilt, obsessively scheduling each task on detailed spreadsheets in the belief that they can pull it off on budget and within their aggressive 9-month schedule.

 

But from the start, raising two young children, working in demanding careers and problem solving as things go wrong proves a gruelling, plate-spinning exercise. It’s not long before Davi and Matt veer off course, miss deadlines, and face huge financial pressures. To make matters worse, they’re hit hard by supply chain issues in the construction industry and material costs rocketing. Exhausted and stressed beyond belief, can they really deliver their ambitious global house – one that fuses flavours from Zimbabwe, Australia, and the UK - or will it end up just a mishandled mishmash of ideas?

 

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