Deciding where to build a house tends to be a one-two punch. Prospective owners not only have to love the land they buy, but they also need the foresight—or that of an architect—to imagine their future home on it. The But looking at properties can become tiring fast, and when decision fatigue sets in, everything starts to blend together.

For the lucky ones, there’s a moment in the search, however exhaustive, when things just click. South African couple Graeme and Toni stuck with it for five years until they connected with a lot in the suburbs of Johannesburg.

“When we came across this property, there was a beautiful old acacia tree on it, and that’s what first attracted me to the land,” says Toni, a design-loving stay-at-home mom of two boys, Jesse, 14, and Jamie, 11. “It’s the quintessential African tree—a symbol of the continent. I wanted to see that tree every day when I woke up. I wanted the house to wrap around it.”

Because the lot was created from a subdivision, it had a swimming pool that had belonged to another nearby home, which needed replacing. It was otherwise open, and Toni and Graeme envisioned constructing a family home by sourcing as many materials and products locally as possible. “We’re proud South Africans,” says Toni.