Lodge with lots more luxury

THE Victorian lady who once owned the estate surrounding this week’s Hot Property, really had the right idea.

Originally, the main sandstone house was number 10, with a stable block behind, a big plot of land with beautiful woodlands, a summer house and a sweeping driveway.

When her family had to sell up, she split the land into three, sold off the main house and stable block and kept the lovely plot, the impressive driveway, the wood, the summer house and the number 10. (The big main house, which still exists next door, was turned into 10a.)

Current owner Linda Dykes explains with a laugh: “I love the fact she cherrypicked exactly what she wanted from the original estate.

“She built a small cottage on the plot, which has evolved into the house we have today.”

In fact, the Dykes family – Linda, husband Ian and sons Adam and Nathan – have transformed Westwood Lodge into a fabulous luxury 11-apartment home, full of space and light, with superb accompanying gardens.

It has been the Dykes’ much loved family home for 16 years.

“It’s like a secret house,” says Linda. “You can’t see it from the road – you can tell there is a house behind the trees but you have no idea what it’s like. Even when you come up the driveway, you can’t tell how big the house is inside, or how beautiful the gardens are behind – it is full of surprises.”

The original cottage had already been extended when the Dykes moved in, and they went on to add an upstairs and an expanded, open plan kitchen, living and dining area with glass doors to the gardens.

“It doesn’t matter what window you look out of, all you see are trees and gardens, and it feels like you could be living in Perthshire,” smiles Linda.

“It’s a beautiful house and we have loved living here. But when our older son moved out to go to university, it didn’t feel like our family home any more – so we have decided to move on to the next chapter of our lives. It is also really too big for just the three of us.

For a family with younger children, it’s ideal.”

Westwood Lodge is a beautiful home, set in mature gardens in Busby, East Renfrewshire. It is handy for local shops and a wider selection of retail and leisure in nearby Clarkston and East Kilbride. Glasgow is also within easy reach thanks to great road and rail networks.

Westwood Lodge is a house that flows well. The bright and airy entrance hall leads through to the comfortable sitting room and impressive open plan kitchen, dining and family room with its wall of French doors into the garden.

“This is where we spend most of our time,”

says Linda. “We could have put a more formal dining room into the house when we were renovating, but we are real foodies and love to cook and chat while we have friends round so this was much better for us.”

There are three further reception rooms, a bathroom and the fantastic master bedroom suite on the ground floor.

“I love my bedroom – it has doors which open into the garden and it is south-facing, so in the summertime it’s really beautiful,” says Linda.

“There is plenty of space inside the house. There are no small rooms and the different shapes and styles mean it’s much more interesting than just a series of boxes.

“When the boys were younger, they each had their own playroom, full of toys – now those rooms have evolved into teenagers’

Westwood Lodge in Busby is a luxury home that’s packed full of surprises