Gatsby meets the 21st century at this stunning Art Deco property
Cowmns Lowe, Lascelles Hall Road, Huddersfield. Price: £650,000. Contact: Yorkshire’s Finest, tel: 0845 604 2887, www.yorkshiresfinest.org TIM Richardson viewed over 90 properties before one finally stole his heart and demanded commitment.
“I was looking for 12 months before I bought this,” admits Tim, who fell in love with the history, location and potential offered by the house, which is close to the village of Lepton.
The rear part of the house was a small factory, built in 1850, and in the 1920s it became a home and was treated to an impressive frontage and Art Deco makeover
“I like older properties with character and I wanted a chance to put a modern twist on the interior and this offered a lot of potential for that,” says Tim, who relocated from London, after getting a job in Huddersfield.
The house needed updating and Tim and his partner project managed the work, which included replumbing, rewiring, new guttering, pointing and roofing. They also installed a new heating system and electric gates
“Inside, we ripped everything out, right back to the floorboards and plaster. In fact, we lived in one room for a year while all the work was going on,” says Tim.
“We re-modelled the interior, knocked walls down and created new bathrooms. It had one when we bought it and it now has three and a cloakroom.”
The privation was well worth it, as the house is now a stunning home and the decor shows off the owners’ creative talents.
Tim, works in store design and visual merchandising, enjoys mixing old and new, so some of the furniture is from Newark antiques fair, while other pieces are from contemporary stores like Made.com. Lighting is also a mix, with antique chandeliers and new lamps from Abigail Ahern. Fabrics wallpaper are a mix of Cole and Son and Designers Guild.
“I looked at magazines for ideas and I built a mood board for each room and created the scheme around key pieces,” says Tim, who came up with some ingenious ideas.
The master bedroom features a
I’ve really enjoyed living here and I’ll be very sad to leave. A lot of effort and emotion has gone into it.
partial dividing wall behind the bed.
It hides a dressing room with wardrobes and open rails along one wall and a table and mirrors on the other.
Five years of hard work and a small fortune later, the property is picture perfect, but a new job in London is forcing Tim to sell it.
“I’ve really enjoyed living here and I’ll be very sad to leave the house behind.
“A lot of effort and emotion has gone into it,” he says.
The property has an entrance, dining hall, large dining kitchen, utility and cellar, drawing room and sitting room.
Upstairs, there is a master bedroom with en-suite shower room. There are a further three double bedrooms, an en-suite shower room and a luxurious bathroom. Outside, there is a garage, workshop and gardens.