'I built a Love Island villa in my garden with £6k – now it makes me millions'
Love Island is officially back on our screens, with all eyes on the rocky romance between Molly and Mitchel. But it's the luxurious Mallorca villa that interiors lovers are really lusting over.
One creative Brit has proven that you needn't catch a flight all the way to Spain to sit around a firepit, enjoy a dip in a hot tub or whip up an iced coffee outdoors.
DIY dad Derry Green has gone viral online for recreating the world-famous villa in his back garden with £6,000 during lockdown.
He used his handy skills and YouTube tutorials to build the Love Island-inspired glamping pod at home, and now rakes in millions of pounds.
Derry spent £6,000 turning his British back garden into a Mallorca-like villa (Jam Press)
The dad-of-two turned it into a luxurious glamping business worth £4M (Jam Press)Not only do his family love it, but it's turned him into a self-made millionaire and celebrities, including previous Islanders, have even paid a visit.
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The pod was so successful when it launched, that it got booked up for two years in just three days, pulling in £200,000.
The DIY aficionado always hoped to build a playhouse for his two children, Sophia, 11, and Noah, nine, as he grew up creating dens with his brother.
Then during a camping trip in the garden, he found inspiration to make the experience more "exciting" and set about creating the project step-by-step.
He was inspired by the infamous Love Island villa to make it extra glamorous (Jam Press)"I decided to build a deck, then days turned into weeks and weeks into months, until I had a full pod," the family man, from Wigan, said.
"It just kept expanding from there and the kids helped me along the way, pushing my limits each time. It took me around eight weeks to complete in total."
Derry used reclaimed items from second-hand websites like Facebook Marketplace and eBay to transform the space.
"I love watching Love Island, it's one of my favourite shows," the dad-of-two said.
There is outdoor seating, a ginormous TV, a pool table and a bubbling hot tub (Jam Press)"We've even had some of the previous cast come and stay at the site, with them making content around the place and comparing it to the show.
"People come from all over and it's incredible; two ladies flew in from New York just to be here for two days.
"I'd love for the producers to host a series in the UK one summer - I'd happily build the perfect villa for them, but we'll have to wait and see."
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After his back garden was such a hit, Derry began to create other sites across the UK and now has nine units on the go and four more in the works.
He is currently building nine more units across the UK for guests to enjoy (Jam Press)
Visitors have travelled from all over the world to stay in his luxe glamping pod (Jam Press)"I never thought it would turn into the business it has now and we intend to invest millions more into expanding this further," he said.
His latest project, The Secret Garden Glamping, has been valued at £4million and is likely to bring in just as many guests.
"Each unit is hand built by myself, along with some help from my son, where I create new ideas and set to work," Derry said.
"The inspiration comes from different places and it could either be a piece of wallpaper I've seen or the way the trees are shaped around the area.
Ex-Islanders have said it looks and feels exactly like ITV's Mallorca villa (Jam Press)"I never have a plan when I start and I change my mind about 10 times a day – it's a very fluid process.
"The first one took us around eight weeks, but now it takes up to four months and my son regularly helps me out on evenings and weekends, as he likes getting his hands dirty.
"We use it as our little escape for a few hours, where he can play with whatever he wants – from nail guns to chop saws."
The Mallorca-inspired garden has even found Derry love too, as he met his girlfriend, Chelsea, 24, as a result.
"We met here at the site, as she was one of the first guests to come and stay," he explained.
It was always Derry's dream to own a DIY business like this one (Jam Press)
He even met his girlfriend Chelsea at the Love Island-inspired spot (Jam Press)"I accidentally managed to lock her out and when I returned to apologise, sparks started to fly. From there, we've never been apart."
A site now costs around £70,000 and takes three months to build, as all materials are sourced from local merchants and suppliers.
But it was only a few thousand pounds that Derry had at the beginning, and he says other DIYers can do it too.
"I'm living proof that if I can do it, anybody can," he said. "If you told me three years ago that this is what I'd be doing, I wouldn't believe it - it still baffles me everyday."
Do you have a Love Island inspired home? Get in touch. Email [email protected].
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