Episodes
1. Ireland
October 5, 2006
60 min
Architect George Clarke offers advice to a married couple relocating to Ireland, where they plan to live a mortgage-free, self-sufficient existence with their daughter. With a budget of £14,000 to renovate a derelict house that has been empty for more than 30 years, they expect to move into their new home within four months. If they miss their deadline, they face spending Christmas in a tiny caravan
2. Suffolk
October 12, 2006
60 min
Architect George Clarke lends his expertise to couple Adrian and Denise Nuttall, who have invested their money in a run-down garden centre and a 400-year-old barn and farmhouse in the Suffolk countryside. The pair plan to open a chilli farm, shop and restaurant on the site, but things take a drastic turn for the worse just one month into the project
3. Lincolnshire
October 26, 2006
60 min
Architect George Clarke meets a couple who want to move from Surrey to the wilds of Lincolnshire, where they hope to start a business and convert a ruined 18th-century granary into an idyllic rural home
4. France
November 9, 2006
60 min
George Clarke meets Jason and Phillipa, who have left behind their well-paid careers in Aberdeen's oil industry to renovate a chateau in France's Loire Valley. The pair hope to transform it into a luxurious bed and breakfast, as well as making it a home for themselves
5. Worthing
December 7, 2006
60 min
George Clarke meets Jez and Laura, who want to leave London behind for the coast. After waiting three years to fulfil the requirements of the local planning authority they can finally begin work on their dream home - a beach house in Worthing. The couple refuse to compromise when it comes to cost and materials, and as summer approaches must pull out all the stops to complete the project
6. Isle of Seil
December 14, 2006
60 min
George Clarke meets a couple who have given up their jobs and the hectic pace of life in Sheffield. They plan to convert a 100-year-old tin church on the Isle of Seil into a small B&B within eight months and with a limited budget of just £70,000. The architect is more than a little sceptical, but the pair are determined to complete the project without taking on a loan
7. Pembrokeshire
60 min
George Clarke meets Andrew and Anona, who have spent two years planning a move to the Pembrokeshire coast. The couple intend to open a pair of luxury holiday cottages to provide enough money to save the 160-acre family farm, which Anona's parents are finding difficult to keep afloat, but the age of the buildings poses a problem to the renovations
8. Croatia
December 28, 2006
60 min
George Clarke meets Frank and Alice from Cambridge who decide to move to rural Croatia, planning to convert a dilapidated stone house and its idyllic surroundings into a nature retreat with six log cabins for guests. While things seem to go well at first, difficulties with the local authorities, the language barrier, and a divining rod soon cause problems for the project. Last in series
9. St Ives Revisited
60 min
Architect George Clarke revisits a London couple who sold their organic cafe in Brixton and spent a £1million bank loan converting a rundown Cornish hotel in St Ives into three houses, one of which was to be used as a designer B They faced a race against time to have the middle house finished and on the market by Christmas so they could concentrate on getting the B open for the start of the tourist season
