ACRES OF POTENTIAL
SOME people have more opportunity to morph their home into what they need than others – and it certainly helps if you have land, a budget and someone in the family is a builder. And this detached dream home within about 2.3 acres of land certainly had the space to grow over the years to meet the current owners’ family and animal needs.
Roads to the M4 are nearby and if an urge for some retail therapy ever grabs anyone at the house, McArthurGlen Designer Outlet isn’t far away.
Called Plas Pen Y Cae, the home has grown substantially and some might even say it is now a tiny little hamlet, with three potential homes nestled within the land.
Of course, there’s the main six-bed beauty but next door to it is a twostorey little house that could be a granny annexe, guest house or a place for the teenagers to hang out and make as much noise and mess as they like.
Currently, this versatile extra building called the coach house is being used as a gym on the ground floor and luckily has two sets of French doors out to the terrace, so when the workout gets too sweaty, fresh breezes can be welcomed in to help out.
Upstairs in the coach house there’s a cloakroom, so it’s handy to know that there is plumbing in place if there was a desire to add a kitchen area and expand the cloakroom into a full bathroom or shower room.
The majority of the upstairs is one large room currently used as a playroom which has a bonus Juliet balcony at one end so that this space can boast an inside outside connection as well as views across the countryside.
It’s easy to see how this little coach house could be a complete annexe with the installation of a small kitchen and shower or bath, although, as always, checking with planning and building control before making any changes.
But it’s not the only spot on the site for living – granny has a choice of separate buildings to consider.
There’s a detached building next to the pool that currently is set out as a bedroom and lounge, and also has a shower room.
Again, it could be used as a guest suite or if there are enough bedrooms on site, the fact that it is situated next to the pool with direct access surely makes it a contender for the best party room in the area.
Bar, DJ booth, dance floor, pool table, football table, cinema screen – what goes inside is up to you and what kind of parties you like to throw.
But how delightful would it be to keep it as accommodation – surely waking up every day next to the pool and patio makes you feel like you’re on a permanent holiday – at least when the sun is out.
The heated swimming pool is certainly an area people will gravitate towards, but there are plenty of areas in the garden to relax and enjoy the surroundings, and maybe the terrace in the corner between the kitchen diner and main living room is the place to be.
It’s not a surprise to discover that the huge kitchen diner, with its substantial central island bathed in light from two crystal chandeliers, a massive roof lantern and a wall of bifold doors out to the terrace, is the owner’s favourite space in this dream home.
A dining table extending out from the kitchen island is a design choice rooted in the desire for the room to be super sociable and the core of the home.
The island seems almost like a bridge of a ship, where lots of prepping is navigated towards the destination of a yummy meal, with the view out over the garden from the ship’s ‘bridge’ arguably the best you’ll find at the property.
For more formal dining, the kitchen flows into a dining room at the front of the house via a substantial and connecting opening – the vast majority of the dividing wall has gone to make this a massive open-plan kitchen dining area.
It also means the dining room can enjoy direct views of the garden without a pesky wall getting in the way.
The dining room is so large, the table easily seats a football team plus manager, and could take even more if you want to invite the subs and support team too.
Off the kitchen, and running alongside the sunny garden terrace, is the main living room, full of character and full of a welcoming atmosphere.
The vaulted ceiling with exposed beams demands instant attention and gives the room personality, ably assisted by the huge fireplace at the end of the space.
As with most of this house, the proportions in the lounge are large and can easily accommodate a grand piano in one corner, but the timeless and elegant interior design means the spaces feel warm and inviting.
The sprawling home has some more intimate and quieter spaces to discover away from these sizeable and hugely sociable rooms.
There’s a separate, inner study only found off the utility room, plus the right wing of the house offers two further lounges, one of which morphs into a conservatory-style space, and a home office.
After time spent exploring the ground floor of the main house, the first floor beckons and offers some lovely spaces to tempt you to linger too.
Arguably, and initially, you might think the master bedroom is situated over the right wing of the house because it can offer the lucky occupant a fabulous private and sunny big balcony that sits above the ground floor conservatory.
Just check the postie isn’t wandering up the sweeping drive when you step out onto your balcony in your PJs on a sunny morning.
However at the other side of the house is a bedroom that can also offer a balcony for the best of brunch experiences, and this bedroom has additional shower room ensuite too.
Looking at the current decor, it appears the first balcony room is the master and the one with the ensuite and showered with pink decor is obviously a children’s room.
There are two further bedrooms on this floor as well as a stylish family bathroom that offers a double sink and a statement, free-standing bath with views out over the garden.
Up to the second floor, and there are two further bedrooms and another family bathroom to crown the top of the house with more versatile space.
How could humans not be happy living here? But there is ample space and opportunity to please a range of animals too.
As part of the 2.3 acres, the stable yard lies to the side of the property and has two detached timber framed stable buildings and the four stable boxes and the paddock space is enclosed by ranch style fencing.
The owner says: “We have loved living in this house, it has been a wonderful home for our children to grow up in and such a safe environment, whoever buys this house will be very lucky, it is absolutely the best place to raise a family.”