Ben Hillman has had an amazingly interesting life and is a presenter on A Place in the Sun for Channel 4. As well as his interior design business, he has been renovating his house in Shoreham-by-Sea and is shortlisted for Shed of the Year 2023, the Cuprinol competition that has been running for 17 years. He talks to Lynda Clark about how it all began, his love of DIY, and has some expert advice for first time buyers.
Ben is a hands-on sort of guy. His enthusiasm and passion for everything he does are infectious, and he embraces life at full speed, which is very refreshing. He grew up in the 1980s and his father had a small building and property maintenance business in Brighton. He says, “We worked out of a terraced house and the office was in the basement with a separate entrance. The guys turned up there to find out what their various jobs for the day were, and I remember always having a chat with them. So, I think that without me knowing it, there was a seed planted in my mind that I would eventually go into property.
“Times were different then, and it was the days when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. My parents bought and renovated a terraced house, which had originally been a shop in the North Laine. My mum used to take me there after school, and I remember when there was no roof on the building and standing in the basement and seeing the sky, which was very exciting. When I was older, I used to go out with my dad when he was working to earn a bit of extra money and I loved it. I would go up 15 storeys in a cradle and would think nothing of it, as I was always very hands-on.”
“THE L-SHAPED EXTENSION HAS A WONDERFUL CORNER WINDOW WITH ALMOST FLOOR-TOCEILING WINDOWS THAT LET IN LOADS OF NATURAL LIGHT”
At school, Ben always enjoyed the creative subjects like art and design and technology, and he knew that was the direction he was going to take. He did his A-levels at Cardinal Newman sixth form and then went on to do a Foundation Year at Brighton College of Technology and originally thought he would go into product design. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do except that I wanted to keep life interesting and not get stuck in a nine-to-five job. Looking back, I should really have gone into interior architecture as there was a course at college, but that is with the knowledge of hindsight. During my time at college, I really got into lighting design and designed and launched F-LUX lighting, which was one of the world’s first portable LED lights, and I also made a prototype furniture design for Conran, but it turned out it was too complicated to make – it was one of those lessons in life.”
Eventually, he wanted to move to London and got an internship at Wallpaper* magazine. “I applied to be a receptionist there but suddenly I got a job as the Special Projects Manager. I didn’t know anything and was way out of my depth really, but they just said as long as you have a passport it’s go, go, go! I started by going to Milan in Italy as Wallpaper* was exhibiting a special house at the Salon de Mobile by an Austrian architect and I had to oversee the project. It was very amusing when fashion designer Giorgio Armani came to see the house and mistook me for the architect. It was a fun time and I met all the movers and shakers in the fashion and interiors business, which was quite an eye-opener.”
Ben left Wallpaper* and moved on to The White Company where he co-ordinated photo shoots and assisted in the styling of both its web and brochure photography. He enjoyed the creative side of the work but it was very office-based and he became restless. He also decided he should buy a home of his own and found a tiny two-bedroom apartment in Shepherd’s Bush. “It was in the Grampians Art Deco building which was incredible and had an old-fashioned cage lift, a porter and an amazing entrance. The apartment was on the seventh floor with great views and although very small I had an idea for creating a combined bed/ wardrobe/desk unit in the second bedroom. Then I found out that the service charge was £3,000 a year and I had to say no, but I really missed out on a great investment.
“My parents were freeholders of some flats in Brighton and a young couple who lived there had to renew their lease and decided to sell up. I then bought the place for £157,000 and lived there and rented out my spare room for a couple of years. I met my now wife and she eventually moved in and after about six years we got married and wanted to start a family so we needed a bigger place. We liked the area, but as is often the case, it’s financially hard to go up the ladder and double your mortgage.”
The flat that Ben and his wife lived in was a 1970s purpose-built block and had a flat roof. Instead of moving, he decided that it would be possible to build an extension and build upwards, using up the roof area. He bought the extra space and created the perfect design but the neighbours were not very happy with the proposed changes. His planning application was turned down but he appealed, then on the day he was due at the planning office to fight his case nobody turned up to argue, so he got planning. “It was an amazing space of about 150 sq m and had three big double bedrooms and two huge glass skylights which let in masses of light. When we had our first baby daughter, Hope Blossom, it became a true family home and had wonderful sea views. However, there was no lift and it was on the second floor and as I often work away it became really hard work for my wife to carry up the shopping and the buggy, so I began to have a look round to see if there was something more suited to our needs.
“I was away filming A Place in the Sun in Costa Rica for five weeks so during that time I had some downtime. I started looking online to see what properties were around and I found a house in Shoreham-by-Sea, which looked like it had masses of potential. I looked at it on Google Maps and it was in the ideal location, so I called my wife and asked her to go and have a look at it. We ended up buying it even though I was away on location and had never actually seen it! It was quite scary, as we had to sell a couple of apartments we owned in order to buy it, but it has so much potential. I know that once I have done all the work I want to do on it, it will add a great deal of money to the property and is a really good investment.
“It is a 1930s Arts and Crafts semi-detached house, which was totally unspoilt and very well built and really very lovely. We have done a great deal of work on the house as we absolutely love Shoreham and wouldn’t change living here for the world. I wanted the house to be very flexible and grow with us as a family. I think it’s important that we have space for friends and family to visit and also the girls are growing up so at some point they will want to invite their friends over as well.
“One of the main reasons we loved this house is that it had oodles of space at the side so we could extend. The main lounge, which we call ‘the snug’, is at the front of the house and because we have such an amazing garden at the back I wanted a room that looked out over the garden, so we hardly ever really use the snug. The L-shaped extension has a wonderful corner window with almost floor-to-ceiling windows that let in loads of natural light and there is an Art Deco-style wood burner in the centre of the space – it really is very special. Having had some rather bad experiences in the past with builders, I found the most amazing builder to help with the work who was a joy. It actually came in on budget and I mean to the penny! It was the polar opposite of what I had experienced in the past.”
Ben has a new-found passion for gardening and spends a great deal of his spare time outside. “The rear garden is quite traditional and I have planted some Mediterranean plants out there, but the front garden was quite an eyesore and very dated. I decided to re-landscape and create something that sends visitors through a little journey before they arrive at the front door. I have been inspired by my travels and always take photos of the plants I find and then work out if they will grow and thrive in the UK. I have planted a centrepiece agave, which gives the front garden a very Mediterranean feel.”
Always full of surprises, Ben tells me about the history of Shoreham-by-Sea, which is fascinating. “During the 1920s there were some film studios and all the famous film stars would fly into the Art Deco airport and they built little prefab-type homes on the beach which they would use when they were not working. Eventually, they realised the weather in England wasn’t very conducive to filming outdoors so they moved to Hollywood. Who would believe that a town on the south coast was actually the beginning of the film industry in Hollywood!”
Ben has recently designed a library for a local school, which he is very pleased with. “I really enjoyed doing something to help the community and the library is a playful, fun and inspiring creative space. I hope the children enjoy using it. I am really in my happy place and I have the perfect job working for A Place in the Sun and a wonderful family.”
“I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE WHO IS BUYING TO GET A FIXED-RATE MORTGAGE OF BETWEEN TWO TO FIVE YEARS, ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE TO GO WITH WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD”
When I talk to Ben, he has some very exciting news and said, “During the first lockdown I really enjoyed being at home and spending time with the family and in the garden but, like everyone, I was quite anxious and didn’t know how things would pan out, and I really needed a distraction. I promised the girls that I would build a climbing frame which was great fun to build but slightly complicated as there was a real lack of materials at that time. Then the next lockdown came around and I decided I needed a much bigger project, so I designed and built a post-modernist Californian inspired office and studio in the garden. It has wonderful picture windows and I really splashed out and even installed underfloor heating. I love spending time there and had always thought about entering the Shed of the Year competition but always missed the deadline. Then I suddenly realised that the entries for 2023 were due the next day, so I rushed and took some photos and just about managed to enter. I found out today that I have been shortlisted, which is amazing! I love DIY, architecture and building and this has combined all of my passions and as it’s in the garden you are not so constrained by planning, so I let myself go and I think it’s pretty good.”
Ben has some great advice for first time buyers and said, “We are in turbulent times especially for first time buyers and what is going to happen to the market is an unknown. I would advise anyone who is buying to get a fixed-rate mortgage of between two to five years, although you have to go with what you can afford. Interest rates might dip again but on the other hand they might go up, so it is advisable to lock into a rate now. Be realistic with what you can afford and always be prepared to spend more than you thought you would.
“It’s easy to get jittery, especially if this is the first time you have bought a property, but take stock of what your criteria are and be completely ready to buy if the right property comes to market. Don’t hesitate and lose it as prices and mortgage rates are very unstable, so be prepared to jump when you have to. Always look at the potential of the home as most people will want to move on at some point so you should try to add value. If it’s a new build then that’s tricky but if you go for an older property then it’s much easier to add value and improve the kerb appeal, which will certainly help when you come to take that next step on the property ladder.”
When I spoke to Ben he was filming in Kefalonia in Greece and he said, “I have really fallen for this island; in fact, I think it’s become my favourite Greek island and today I found my dream home. It was one of the properties we featured but I secretly kept thinking I want this place. Majorca was always my go-to destination but this is on another level.” I think we might see Ben and his family spending holidays there in the future or he might just decide to build another shed!
A Place in the Sun is on Channel 4 daily and a brand new series will be going on air in October.
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