Architectural designer, Charlie Luxton, believes it is possible to build your perfect home – and for less than it would cost to buy a ready-made property. Building the Dream will follow ambitious first-time home-builders as they embark on creating their ideal property.

Around the UK, potential buyers are discovering that the only way they can afford a property that fits their brief is to find an empty plot of land and build from scratch. If they get it right, then they can save tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds – and have the property of their dreams. But get it wrong, and their dream home can quickly turn into a nightmare.

On hand to guide them through from foundations to finish, Charlie will provide advice and support to the families on this steep learning curve. By showcasing other brave self-builders who have turned a hole in the ground into their for-ever home – and at a fraction of the cost of buying it ready built – this series will inspire and offer advice to those who want to design every last detail of their home. But when it comes to moving on have the families blown their budget and created a house which only they could love?

Following the triumphs and tragedies of building your own home, Charlie will reveal at the end of each project the value of this newly built home. Looking at what was spent and what the property is now worth Charlie will reveal if it is really possible to build yourself a bargain.

The 20×60 series, ordered by Commissioning and Development Editor David Sayer, will be made by True North and executive produced by Jess Fowle.

David Sayer said: “Charlie’s passion for self-building is an inspiration not only to the families he works with, but shows all of us that our ideal home is surprisingly affordable if we build it ourselves.”

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