How these first time buyers saved to buy a new build and turned it into super stylish home

Their property journey started when they began saving for a house. Rather than move into a rental property together, which would limit how much money they could put away, they each stayed with their parents.

“It took us two years of saving to get a deposit together but we were really lucky because we both lived rent free and because we couldn’t do a lot during Covid and we were both still earning, we managed to save £40,000 altogether,” says Shannon.

However, deciding which house to buy was a sticking point as Tom, an architect, wanted a “fixer upper” that would enable him to use his design skills.

Shannon wanted a maintenance-free new-build that she could immediately put her own stamp on and she got her way after agreeing to a number of caveats.

Tom insisted that the house have a perfect floor plan, a bay window, a downstairs loo and absolutely no stairs in the sitting room.

After hunting for a property they could afford in their preferred location of York, they extended their search and found “the one” in Pocklington, a 30-minute drive away. The enchantingly named Thespian is on Bellway Homes’ Amblers Grange development.

“We fell in love with it. We had been looking at two up, two down terrace houses in York that needed work but we realised that moving to Pocklington would mean that we could afford a three-bedroom, detached house in a lovely market town. I work in Hull and Tom works in York, and Pocklington is within easy travelling distance of both,” says Shannon.

Some questioned the decision as they thought new-build homes “have no character”, but the couple have shown that is something you can create. When they got the keys, all they had to do was decorate and furnish the house and, thanks to meticulous forward planning, it was quickly done.

“When we reserved the house, the builder had only just started doing the foundations so we had time to look for what we needed,” adds Shannon.

She began by setting up @architectandi, an Instagram account to document the journey from empty house to gorgeous home.

She also got ideas from other Instagrammers, from the room sets in the Neptune store on the outskirts of York and from Pinterest and set up a mood board to collate her ideas.

“If I liked the look of something, Tom would do a scale drawing on his laptop to check how it would look in the house,” says Shannon.

After originally disagreeing on what kind of house they wanted, she and Tom found themselves agreeing on interior design.

Green was to be the predominant colour mixed with white and low-key neutral shades. “Keeping to a colour palette was important because I wanted the house to flow,” says Shannon.

The couple chose a soft green for the kitchen cabinets and added rustic shelving for character and contrast.

Panelling was also added to some of the walls for extra depth and character and all the plastic light switches were changed for chrome. “Tom and I aren’t very handy but our dads are so Tom’s dad did the panelling and my dad did the light switches,” says Shannon.

In the sitting room, the stand-out feature is a fabulous chandelier. It retails at £1,000 but Shannon and Tom managed to get it for £75 on Facebook Marketplace, where she also found a Laura Ashley light for the main bedroom.

Her tips for finding the right item on the buying and selling site include identifying what you want and then being persistent in searching, while being prepared to travel.

“I would look on the site four times a day and we were really lucky with what we found. We drove all over collecting buys from Facebook Marketplace. The solid wood, Barker & Stonehouse coffee table in the sitting room is from there.”

Bagging beautiful bargains allowed them to splash out on some new items, including a dining table from Modish Living. “I saw it on Instagram and loved it but it was £1,000. Luckily, we managed to get it for £700,” adds Shannon.

They had budgeted £10,000 for the fit-out but it sailed over to £16,000, which they scraped together. “I don’t buy anything I can’t afford and we felt what we bought was a good investment.

“We upgraded the kitchen and had quartz worktops and a built-in fridge freezer and the carpets and tiles weren’t included so those cost quite a lot but we are really happy with what we’ve got,” says Shannon, who enjoyed adding finishing touches include a black console table at the top of the stairs with a gallery wall of black and white photographs above.

Many of the accessories are from Dunelm and HomeSense, and Shannon also treated herself to an extra large Jo Malone candle but adds: “That was a big splurge but it will definitely last. I’ve only lit it twice.”

Shannon’s Instagram account is @architectand. For details of new homes for sale on Bellway Homes Ambler’s Grange development in Pocklington, visit www.bellway.co.uk or call 01759 401552.