Given the chance, who wouldn't want a home in paradise? It's a fair bet that a good few out of every 100 visitors look longingly at the real-estate ads in Phuket Magazine and think, "If only …"

For some, of course, the "ifs" are far outweighed by the lure of island lifestyle. The corner of the ad pages are turned down, calls and visits follow; then comes the big decision — usually sometime around sunset.

A few, however, aren't content to choose from the vast range of pre-packaged property options Phuket has to offer. Instead, they decide to go it alone. If the idea of owning a tropical home seems daunting, actually building according to one's dream design might seem too lofty an aspiration. But it is possible, and the results never fail to surprise — each a tour de force of individualism and determination.

Scott Bradley and his wife Toy have created just such a masterpiece of personal inspiration — and perspiration — on the Panwa peninsula. With an unparalleled panorama that takes in the full stretch of Chalong Bay, the islands, and the Andaman beyond, their home sits high upon the corner of the hillside, making for an impressive sight when approached along the road that winds along the south side of the cape.

Lightly tinted glass fronts the house from ground floor to roof, allowing access to the entire view from almost anywhere inside, without admitting furniture-fading UV, and remaining optically comfortable during the last gasps of the setting sun. The second floor cuts back, leaving a high, open area at the front of the ground floor. Of the four large bedrooms, all but one face that spectacular outlook, the fourth room overlooking the rear gardens and a view across equally impressive forested hillsides.

Scott, a shipwright by trade, has spent the last 12 years polishing and preening some of the most beautiful superyachts to grace Phang Nga Bay, and throughout his home the deft touch of his craft can be seen. Few homes boast such immaculate finishing.

"A lot of midnights went into just sanding, varnishing and polishing the floors," he says, now able to relax somewhat and enjoy their creation. Toy and Scott worked the teak floorboards as they would have the deck of a luxury yacht, laying 11 coats of varnish across the 550sqm of floor, then sanding back between each coat to ensure the varnish took the grain of the wood.

Further nautical touches include unique door and cabinet handles created from lengths of stainless-dipped 316 steel rigging hawser, and stairways banistered with polished stainless cabling and highly varnished rails that shine in the late afternoon sun.

The task of applying and smoothing the 14-15 coats of varnish upon the stair rails fell to Toy. Her work is matchless, and she takes a modest pride in having been a part of this exemplary attempt to achieve the perfect home. Attempt? Yes, because even now — after almost 18 months of construction and a year since finally deciding the house was finished — Scott is still dreaming up improvements.

While Toy and Scott took the challenge of the lion's share of the interior finishing, the couple also helped supervise at all levels of construction. This included working with the architect on the design: "At first I wanted to go for something Bali style, but then I changed my mind, opting for something modern and sturdy. I wanted a home I could enjoy year-round, not just for three months and then spend nine months repairing it." They were intimately involved throughout the construction process, as well, even to the point of helping the builders carry cement while they were placing the fence foundations: "After we had finished for the day the foreman bought me a beer with the rest of the workers."

The work didn't get Scott down. In fact, the whole project brought back memories of his time as a boat-building apprentice in Australia, where part of the training programme included six months working on house construction. Even the many hours of sanding and polishing didn't dissolve his resolve. The most back-breaking part of the process, he admits, was the garden landscaping, in particular the planting of three mature golden cane palms upon the hill beside the house. Still, cane palms are not often found on even the largest of superyachts