Lincolnshire Wolds

High flying millennials, Zara, a professional make-up artist, and her partner, Giuliano, who works in tech, have taken what seems like a huge gamble. Not just because they’re upping sticks from Reading to move to the Lincolnshire Wolds and a new life in the countryside, but also because they’re going to build an impossibly ambitious 400 square-metre, malthouse-inspired home – with Giuliano, a complete building novice, project managing.

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Without expert guidance to rely on, Giuliano’s barely started before he runs into difficulties with the excavations and foundations. It’s a steep learning curve and with a fast-depleting budget, unexpected delays, and complex living arrangements to contend with, both he and Zara end up having to get far more involved than they ever anticipated. They cart roof slates up ladders in a back pack, barter with a local farmer for his help and risk fitting specialist weathering steel cladding themselves. Their new home and their future life together are at stake, but will youthful energy and determination be enough?