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West Suffolk

First Broadcast 2nd October 2019 9pm Channel 4

West Suffolk

Building his own home was always a pipe dream for musician Toby. But that all changed after he survived the trauma of leukaemia. During his recovery, ideas for a radical new home came thick and fast – a place to re-invent his life, improve his health and provide for actress wife Libby and their infant daughter. Once cancer-free, despite still suffering from a compromised immune system, there was no stopping Toby. His dream, to create a new house from a series of interlinked offset black-barn inspired structures in a horseshoe around an ancient oak tree. Set in beautiful rural Suffolk, the design for Toby’s five building home contains six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a music studio and an annexe - a vast project more like a village than a house. Toby’s leukaemia has also left him vulnerable to skin cancer, so one feature of his new home has to be perfect - a shaded walkway that not only joins the different buildings together but crucially shades him from the sun when outside.

 

But creating this life changing vision on a £530k budget, and in only 8 months, is not going to be easy. Building up close to an ancient oak, without destroying its roots, involves embracing a new low impact foundation construction system. The buildings must be raised and the floating shell will be slotted together in super-fast time. But Toby has high architectural ambitions and doesn’t want to rush. Libby is also concerned that her need for a comfortable family home could be forgotten. Add to this Toby’s ongoing health concerns, and the pressure on this project is immense.

Suppliers List

Suppliers List

The following list of suppliers is for information purposes only and no representation or endorsement is made by us in respect of these suppliers.

Service
Company Name
Custom vinyl flooring (drop pattern)
Electrical switches
Feature dining table & furniture
Fireplace installation
House water filter & softeners
Kitchen hardware
Laminate flooring
Large floor tiles
Living room furnishings
Mosaic feature tiles
New concept design & build
Stainless steel sinks
Turf supplier
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