North Star House has been Jo’s family since the 1950’s and her mum and dad have lived there since 1990, in fact her father has always lived in the village, so there’s a strong emotional attachment to the property and the location. However, the house and garden were becoming a bind for Jan and Tony and, as they didn’t want to move, Jo and Richard decided to relocate from Berkshire. So began a project that would take nearly ten-years to complete as they tried and failed to find architects and builders who could deliver what they wanted and within budget.

“We really did put Lenny through his paces,” recalls Jo. “We’d had a rough ride up to this point having lost a fair sum because of our architect and, as we were using savings to fund the build, we myopically focused on the details. This meant a lot of back and forth with Lenny ensuring everything was costed and we all knew what was and wasn’t in budget and who was accountable for what. Lenny was patient, and I think that early openness fostered a good working relationship”.