A MARRIED couple’s adventurous project to build their perfect home in a secluded area of Billericay saw them star on primetime television show Grand Designs this week.

After Michelle Parsons beat cancer, she decided it was a case of seize the day after agreeing with husband and architect David to build their dream home.

Finding the perfect plot in Norsey Wood, Billericay, two years ago, the bunker-style hideaway took 12 months to build, with the Channel 4 crew following their story from June 2015, and filming every three weeks as they battled to complete the project.

Mrs Parsons, an ex-Brentwood School teacher and artist said the process was stressful, but it helped inspire the couple to build the sleek, black-clad, three bedroom home complete with a studio.

She added: “It is nice to have a memory of the build.

“It is a whole new lifestyle and I can work from my studio. It is very peaceful.”

Mrs Parsons’ desire for privacy, which led to a radical decision to eliminate windows from the front of the house, perplexed presenter Kevin McCloud.

He said: “It looks like a bunker on the outside and it feels like a bunker on the inside at the moment.”

Torrential rain and a potentially disastrous gas leak did not deter the couple, who project managed the build with a £230,000 budget.

The end result – several black cubes joined together with roof lights and an innovative organic roof - is a million miles away from conventional architecture.

The house even has its own website dapplehouse.co.uk