Gloucestershire, £1.75 million
Oak House, Tetbury
5 bedrooms, 4-door Aga, walled garden
Savills (01285 627550)
Interior designer Gary Kennedy, who studied fine art at Saint Martin’s in
London, has run this Georgian town house in the centre of Tetbury as a boutique hotel for the past five years. ‘We’ve done up a few houses over the years, but this is my first town house,’ explains Mr Kennedy. Rooms throughout the house show a flair for traditional and contemporary styling, mixing classical furniture with antique pieces.
Gloucestershire, £1.75 million
The Malt House, Ampney Crucis
5 bedrooms, 3-bedroom cottage, 2 acres
Strutt & Parker (01285 653101)
Apart from some 1980s Laura Ashley wallpaper which was ‘holding some of the walls up’, this house hadn’t been touched since 1959. David and Georgina Davies set about a complete refurbishment and reconfiguration, including creating a large family kitchen. ‘We have a vinecovered loggia in the garden-it’s a lovely place to sit and drink wine,’ says Mrs Davies.
Cornwall, £1.5 million
Hendrawna House, Constantine
3 bedrooms, barn, 8 acres
Lillicrap Chilcott (01872 273474)
‘We bought the house in 1969 without even inspecting the interior, its situation was that spectacular,’ explains Sandra Metcalfe. She and her late husband pulled down the original building and built this oak-framed house using granite and reclaimed Delabole slate. ‘You feel as if no one else exists, but you’re not at all isolated-it’s the most phenomenal place.’
East Sussex, £2 million
The Ghyll, Crowborough
5 bedrooms, cinema, 6 acres
Jackson-Stops & Staff (01892 521700)
The Ghyll, on jointly with Knight Frank, is an Arts-and- Crafts property built in the late 19th century, with the interiors designed by the architect and interior designer Charles Francis Voysey. ‘It needs a little touching up now, but the large rooms and the fact that you’re surrounded by mature trees is hard to beat,’ explains owner Jackie Beck.
Suffolk, £3 million
The Old Rectory,
Lavenham
8 bedrooms,
coach house, summer house
Savills (01473 234831)
‘I had an offer accepted on this house without first consulting my husband,’ explains Susie Darvell-Wright. ‘So I immediately came up with the idea that I should run it as a B&B.’ This worked-the couple has just been awarded AA Guest Accommodation of the Year for England. They have renovated all the aspects of the house: ‘I’ve put my heart and soul into it and I’m going to miss it terribly.
Wiltshire, £1.395 million
The Grange, Worton
6 bedrooms, Aga, party barn, 5.8 acres
Chesterton Humberts (01672 5192222)
‘One of the reasons that we bought this house seven years ago was the high-quality Smallbone kitchen and the fact that the house flows brilliantly well,’ explains owner Simon Jacobs. ‘It really works for today’s family.’
Dorset, £1.5 million
The Old Rectory, Warmwell
5 bedrooms, 1-bedroom annexe, workshop, 2 acres
Jackson-Stops & Staff (01305 262123)
Mike and Ginny Barrington have brought up their family here during the past 30 years and would love to find a young family to take the reins. ‘My husband is a furniture restorer, hence the two-storey workshop, which would suit anyone who also wanted to work from home.’
Kent, £1.65 million
Kingsdown House, Sittingbourne
7 bedrooms, 1-bedroom coach house, tennis court, 13 acres
Strutt & Parker (01227 451123)
The only reason why Robert de Fougerolles and his wife are moving on is because Kingsdown has become ‘a lot of house’. ‘We’ve done lots of work on it,’ explains Mr de Fougerolles. ‘I love it because it kind of anchors you- it’s not a house that you can leave for three months.’
Gloucestershire, £695,000
Brookside Cottage, Kemerton
4 bedrooms, workshop, 0.6 acre
Knight Frank (01905 723438)
This thatched cottage is in the heart of the village and has origins dating back to the 17th century. The current owners have created a contemporary finish to the house while retaining exposed timbers and stone throughout.
