Grand Designs 2017: Man builds £300,000 home inspired by SHED from his childhood

Micah Jones and his wife Elaine bought a plot with half an acre of land in County Down for £80,000, demolishing several old agricultural buildings which sat on the land.

With a budget of £200,000, the couple planned to build a home inspired by the  farm buildings from Mr Jones’ childhood.

But they soon ran out of money, spending over £50,000 on a unique timber structure from Austria and £17,000 on windows.

Speaking to Kevin about what inspired the design of the home, Mr Jones revealed he nicknamed his childhood home ‘Shedland’.

He said: “We have to be sophisticated about the design, it is essentially a big empty shed to live in.”

Grand Designs watched as the couple spent half of their budget in just three weeks – despite having a one year schedule for the build.

So the couple, who have three children, were forced to take on most of the interior and decor work themselves in a bid to save money.

Micah said: “Sometimes when I come down to do the stone work I think it’s impossible, this is a life’s work as opposed to a few months.”

Eventually, the couple had to borrow another £25,000 from their bank to ensure they could complete the property.

The family were living in a caravan on site during the build, but soon began to tire of this and pushed to get their home finished.

Their dream became a reality just nine months after they started, and the family moved in to the property in February this year.

The massive four-bedroom home contains a massive open-plan first floor featuring a kitchen, study and sitting room.

The latest episode of Grand Designs comes as Kevin McCloud revealed just what it would take to put him off buying a house.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, the TV presenter and designer admitted what would put him off – and there was one non-negotiable for him when house-hunting.

He revealed: “I can’t believe there is a house anywhere on the planet without some redeeming feature.

“Leaky pipes, a roof that is falling in, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter – you can do it up.”