Rhiannon and Chris' story

Buyers: Rhiannon, 34 and Chris, 33

Occupations: Café Supervisor and Motorsports Buyer

Move in month: November 2025

Development: Viridian Meadows, Desborough

House type: The Darley, 5 bedroom detached home

Tell us a little bit about yourselves:

We've been together for 10 years and have two children, Lyra, who is five, and Marnie, who is 10 months old. We met online after Chris moved to my hometown of Market Harborough for work. At the time, he was living in shared accommodation while I was living with my mum. We spent a few years living with my mum so we could save up before buying our first home in 2019.

I work as a supervisor at a local independent café, while Chris is a buyer in the local motorsports industry. I trained in surface pattern design, so I can't wait to bring my colourful, maximalist style to our new home.

Now that we're settled into our forever home, we'd love to get a dog to complete our family.

What was your living situation before buying with Avant?

We weren't actively planning to move when we first came to look around the development – Marnie was only two weeks old at the time. We had reached a point where we either needed to extend our current home or move somewhere with more space.

With two young children and both of us working full-time, we quickly realised that taking on a renovation project wasn't the right choice for us. We wanted a home that was ready to move into, allowing us to put our own stamp on it through decorating, without the pressure of major building work or tight deadlines.

Which house type did you buy and why did you choose it?

We'd always been drawn to period properties and never really considered buying a new build. However, after looking at Avant homes, our perspective completely changed. We realised we simply didn't have the time or extra budget to maintain and extend our period home to create the space we needed.

We first looked around the Horbury show home, which really appealed to us and gave us a great first impression of both the house type and the development. However, we felt we needed a little more space, so the Sales Advisor showed us the Darley.

As soon as we stepped inside, we were blown away by the size and layout. We instantly fell in love with the open-plan kitchen, dining and snug area at the rear of the home, with patio doors opening onto the garden. It offered everything we were looking for and more. Both of our girls now have spacious bedrooms, we have a fantastic kitchen-diner that's perfect for entertaining, and we've gone from having just one bathroom to three. It's a home we know we can grow into for years to come.

Why did you choose Avant over other developers?

The quality of the homes and the amount of space you get for the price really stood out to us. We also liked that the Viridian development is relatively small compared to others in the area, as we didn't want to be living on a building site for years to come.

We first visited during an open day and had the chance to speak to some of the residents. Everyone we spoke to had positive things to say about both the development and the quality of their homes, which gave us even more confidence that we were making the right decision.

Do you know any family or friends that already lived in an Avant home?

No, but since moving here, our friends have fallen in love with our home. After recommending the development to them, they came to have a look for themselves and have recently moved in just around the corner from us.

Why did you choose to buy a new build property over a second-hand home?

Part Exchange was a huge incentive for us. At the time, the housing market was unpredictable, with homes taking longer to sell and often achieving either more or less than the asking price. With two young children, having the certainty and security of a guaranteed sale gave us real peace of mind and made the whole moving process much less stressful.

How did you find the buying process?

We found the whole process really straightforward, and communication between everyone involved was excellent. Everything happened so quickly – we visited the development for the first time on a Saturday and reserved our home the very next day.

It all felt a bit surreal, especially as Marnie was only a newborn at the time. I couldn't quite believe we were buying a new home with such a young baby. From reserving our home to moving in, the whole process took just three months.

What do you love most about your home?

We chose this particular home because we loved its darker brickwork and grey roof, which gave it a slightly different look to the other Darley homes on the street.

One of our favourite features is the large driveway, along with the big windows that flood the house with natural light. The garden is a great size too, it's much more manageable, which is ideal with two young children.

The open-plan kitchen, dining and living area at the back of the house is what really sold it to us. The two sets of patio doors bring in so much light and create a bright, welcoming space that's perfect for family life and entertaining.

We also love the wide hallways and spacious landings, which make the whole house feel incredibly open. Every room is generously sized, and there's plenty of storage throughout – something that's essential when you have two children.

Did you go for any upgrades from Avant's optional extras range?

We upgraded a couple of the appliances to better suit our family's needs, but we were really impressed with the quality of the standard kitchen and flooring, so we didn't feel the need to make any additional upgrades. I prefer to add personality and style through décor rather than choosing more expensive worktops or finishes.

Have you found your energy bills more affordable since living in an Avant home?

Hell yeah! (as Chris said) The insulation in new builds is amazing therefore we hardly ever have the heating on. We had an old property before which used to lose a lot of heat and we would have to sit in multiple layers of clothing, so this was amazing for us when we moved in during the winter and didn't feeling cold!

How has life changed since you moved into your Avant home?

We have so much more space now and don't feel like we're on top of each other anymore. It's lovely knowing the girls have big bedrooms that they can grow into, and we no longer worry about unexpected repair costs like we did in our previous home. We know this is our forever home, and I can't wait to keep adding our own style and making it feel even more like us.

What is the community like on your development?

The community is very friendly and has a nice mix of families as well as first time buyers and retired couples in the bungalows. On the green they sometimes do community events for everyone, which is great to get to know people.

Have you been inspired by Rhiannon and Chris' buying story?

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