This months CH & I magazine (a good read if you like country style houses) has a feature on one of our houses - a lovely country cottage, built a few years ago for a great family. I think you can tell the owner has an eye for detail. Here are some of the photos that didn't get used.
Constructed using SIPs, lime render, a brick plinth and clay tiles it has blended perfectly into the hamlet and is a deceptively spacious house (with many clever design features such as a walk through office behind the stairs and hallway, a playroom/4th bedroom adjacent to the utility and wc (for easy possible conversion to a ground floor bed/bath suite), an en-suite bathroom hidden in the roof of the adjacent garage etc). It is unusually designed to face to the front lawn (with a minimal area at the rear) with lots of door and windows to access the garden easily which illustrates how intelligent design can be used to minimise the negative aspects of a plot (in this case an unsightly building) and still suit your family perfectly.
MAY ISSUE - Country Homes and Interiors - OUT NOW
I love the atmosphere of the house - it would be hard to tell that it was only a few years old.
Lovely pictures and I'll be sure to get a copy of the mag - I loved the last one in February. Glad you're back and that the NEC was such an enjoyable success. Regarding the children - so sorry they've been ill, it's the worst thing, I always thought. You're right about picking everything up on starting school though, so if it's any comfort it shouldn't be too bad when G starts school if M is bringing everything home as he'll have had it already. If you really want to feel you're doing something, then perhaps some children's vitamins wouldn't do any harm. The only other thing, and something my late mother-in-law advocated, is ensuring that the children wash their hands the moment they come in from any kind of trip outside - school, shopping, whatever. When you think about it, this chimes with official advice during the swine-flu scare, which was said to have had all sorts of peripheral benefits in fighting other types of infection. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteFantastic blog, fantastic homes... So excited to find From Little Acorns.
ReplyDeletethank you both for your lovely and useful comments - I do love to hear your thoughts. And I will try to remember to wash their hands more - Gabriel's are pretty grubby most of the time!
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