Why Choosing the Right Team Is the First Step to Building Your Dream Home in Spain

Start With the Team – Not the Tiles

One of the hardest parts about building a villa abroad is finding trustworthy builders in Spain. The single most important decision you’ll make is choosing the right team for your project.

In a recent conversation I had with Damian, one of our trusted architects, we touched on this right from the outset.

“The main thing if you want to build a house in Spain is to choose a good team,” Damian said. “There are too many things to do, too many people to talk to. You need a really confident team to work with.”

And he’s right. A good team doesn’t just mean competent professionals – it means people who understand the Spanish system and how you think as an international client. You need people who can bridge that cultural and bureaucratic gap with experience and empathy.

How We Design for Lifestyle First

At Eco Vida Homes, we always say we’re not just a design and build company. We’re in the lifestyle transformation business. That’s not marketing fluff, it’s how we approach every single project.

Damian summed it up nicely in the video:

“We try to enjoy life. So why not enjoy making your new project? It should be a good experience – something you remember with happiness.”

That means when we’re working with you, we’re not just thinking about bedrooms and bathrooms. We’re asking how you live. Where does the sun hit in the morning? Do you love cooking? Entertaining? Yoga? Art? Do you want to shower outside in the fresh air?

It’s about designing your home around those moments: morning coffee under a pergola, cooking paella for friends on a shaded terrace, or enjoying a sea view from a quiet upstairs study.

We make sure those ideas drive the design from day one.

What Makes a Home Feel Truly Yours?

In the video, Damian and I walked through three of our current projects, each designed around a totally different lifestyle.

• In Guadalest, we’re working with a client who wanted a very small home on a very big plot. 50,000m² of forested mountainside, with sea views in the distance. A simple life, surrounded by nature.
• In Denia, the brief was all about wellness yoga, art, and a garden designed for slow, intentional living. The layout had to accommodate hobbies and rituals.
• In Alfara del Patriarca, the owner is a professional cook with a big family. Her dream was to spend holidays cooking for grandchildren in a spacious, open kitchen. So, naturally, that’s where we put the heart of the home.

We design with purpose. That’s how you create a house that doesn’t just look good in photos, but feels right when you live in it.

Don’t Get Lost in Bureaucracy – We’ll Handle That

One of the reasons clients come to us is that they don’t want to wrestle with Spanish red tape. And who can blame them?

We’ve spent over 30 years navigating Spanish building licences, planning regulations, cost controls, and building strong relationships with trustworthy builders, so you don’t have to. 

This is where that earlier point about choosing the right team really pays off. We keep you updated in English, we handle the technicalities, and we take responsibility for making sure your home gets built on time, on budget, and to the highest standards.

We’re regulated by the RICS in London, and we work with a team we know and trust, which means no nasty surprises down the line.

A Few Lifestyle Features That Clients Love

If you’re just starting to imagine what your home might look like, here are a few popular features that come up again and again in our design conversations:

• Interior BBQs that open to the garden – perfect for year-round entertaining
• Outdoor showers and bathrooms – to make the most of the climate
• Hidden ceiling-mounted TVs – for seamless indoor-outdoor living
• Shaded terraces and pergolas – for meals, yoga, or reading outdoors without overheating
• Big kitchen islands – because in Spain, cooking is social

The design is never about copying a style. It’s about understanding your lifestyle and making the architecture reflect that.

Building a home in Spain isn’t just about materials and measurements. It’s about creating something that reflects how you want to live.

We believe that with the right team, the process itself should be enjoyable. You should look back on it with pride, and ideally a bit of nostalgia.

If you’d like to hear more about how we work and see some real-world examples, I’d love for you to watch our recent video. Damian and I share a relaxed, honest conversation about how we approach each project, what challenges people face, and how we turn vision into reality.

Watch the full interview here:

Planning your dream villa in Spain?

Whether you’ve already got a plot or you’re just starting to explore the possibilities, a call with John, our founder and British Chartered Surveyor, is the perfect place to begin. No pressure – just expert guidance from someone who’s been helping people build in Spain for over 30 years.

👉 [Book Your Free Discovery Call]

Let’s explore how your dream home could take shape.