Why are our homes so often designed to be so serious and purely practical? Surely there's space for a bit more fun? That's what Matt and Sophie White from Sussex believe. They want to build a giant family house of fun for themselves and their children. It will be a mysterious black home kitted out with a revolving bookcase door, secret dens, hiding places behind one-way mirrors and a fireman's pole. Matt wants the house to evolve, so he uses a steel frame system which means they can change the layout whenever they want. There are other changes too - like amending the window shapes and sizes and adding a new half floor to create a James Bond room. Just what will this house look like in the end?

After artist and teacher Michelle Parsons recovered from serious illness, she and her architect husband David decided it was time to seize the day and build the private hideaway they'd always yearned for. David devised a sleek, black-clad, three bedroom house for a beautiful plot in an Essex woodland, with a separate studio for Michelle. The couple project manage the build, which gets off to a sticky start, including a dangerous gas leak and torrential rain. As the building finally starts to take shape, the big question remains - by choosing to eliminate windows on two sides of the property, could their new home turn out to be just a gloomy bunker?