My self-build story: 'The design and lightweight materials meant I could work away myself. It was just me, a ladder and a single-storey log cabin'

"Inspired by the iconic designs of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Cork woman Deirdre O'Sullivan took on the solo construction of her cosy cabin in the wood. And by doing much of the work herself, she was able to build her dream home for just 230k If you're Irish, then you've likely spent a few weeks of a youthful summer sandwiched between siblings and cousins in the confines of a caravan or mobile home fighting over the last packet of crisps. But could you live in one for five years while your dream home was being built?"

"Few of us, if given the option, would actively choose to hunker down in the chaos of a renovation or build project, but for Cork native Deirdre O'Sullivan, moving a mobile home into her parents' garden on the boundary of Blarney Castle in Cork was the perfect plot in which to visualise the home of her dreams. In fact, it was the humble mobile which inspired her design."

Deirdre O'Sullivan designed and built a cosy, Frank Lloyd Wright–inspired cabin in the woods near Blarney Castle, Cork. She moved a mobile home into her parents' garden and lived there for five years while the build progressed. The mobile home influenced the cabin's layout and aesthetic. O'Sullivan undertook much of the construction work herself, which reduced labour costs and enabled completion on a 230k budget. The finished home combines iconic architectural cues with practical, self-built solutions to deliver a compact, personalised dream home in a wooded setting.

Read at Independent