Selfbuilder_and_Homemaker_-_September_-_October_2019

the family bathroom which sits behind this room,

off the corridor, and faces the neighbours.

The guest ensuite was to have a glass roof

too, sitting at right angles to the striking curtain

walling, however as Sarah says, they decided to

shelve this design as it was impossible to

achieve. “We just couldn’t make it work, so we

had to rethink it. Any redesign costs a fortune –

it’s galling that it cost so much extra money for

removing a design feature, especially as we have

ended up with a standard ceiling.”

However there were no compromises when

it came to the master bedroom, which has

a great view over the park thanks to the sliding

glass doors. The wall behind the bed separates

the room from a walk-in wardrobe (a room

in itself), and off this is the ‘big reveal’, a very

impressive mosaic-tiled bathroom, featuring

a free-standing bath in pride of place, centrally

located on a protruding wall flanked by

two windows.

“We compromised on all the other bathrooms

to get this one perfect,” says Sarah, explaining

how this refuge was at the top of their wish-list.

The wall that the bath sits against wasn’t quite

central, “so the bath had to be exactly central;

the minutest detail was important to us,” says

Sarah. The shower has a £500 ‘soft-feel’ shower

tray, there’s a Bluetooth-enabled speaker in the

ceiling, and various lighting moods can be

provided. The tile “wasn’t expensive,” insists

Sarah, “however, buying through our tiler meant

we got his 35 per cent trade discount.”

The bedroom is double-aspect, with a

window to the side giving a view of the tree,

and the squirrels’ dray, which helps give the

room a feeling of tranquility with views of nature

wherever you look. Sarah and Andy carried

through this idea having enjoyed seeing the

squirrels in the previous house’s bedroom

which also had a window on this side.

(Somewhat bizarrely, the house was designed

with no window looking towards the park,

however they have remedied this in a big way.)

Situated above the living area is a snug

“Almost nothing in

this house has been

bought at retail

price,” says Sarah,

“we’ve basically

bought on sale or

gone to the

manufacturer”

SARAH’S

TOP TIP


Know how you want

to live and don’t

compromise on that.

We knew that we

wanted to end up with

something that was a

flexible space

44www.sbhonline.co.uk september/october 2019