Couple take control for a dream home

BUILDING things up from scratch is something that Nick Porter has a real talent for.

Last August, Nick and his business partner, Julie Besbrode, set up Fresh, an event and video production company based in Hale, which in just 12 months has earned a turnover of £2.25m.

The innovative company has proven so successful that it was nominated in the Manchester Evening News Business Awards and has been placed in the final three for the Young Business of the Year category.

Nick's philosophy - if you want something doing properly, do it yourself - applies to both his work and home life.

For eight years, Nick and his wife Dawn lived in a stationmaster's house in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, that they had renovated.

When daughter Isabel came along, the time was right to make a bigger move but the couple struggled to find a house in the area that would accommodate their needs.

"We spent two years looking for something that actually didn't exist," explains Nick. "We wanted a house with character that had a large living kitchen with access to the garden and generous room sizes with high ceilings. When we couldn't find anything suitable, we thought we might as well build it ourselves."

Substantial

In 2002, Nick and Dawn found an old property for sale on Ramillies Avenue, Cheadle Hulme, that had a substantial garden. They bought half the land and shared the cost of knocking the house down with another self-builder.

"We had a very strong idea of what we wanted," says Nick. "I remember we were at a restaurant and drew the design on the back of a napkin. We decided upon a three-storey house with five bedrooms and an orangery leading to a large patio.

"The other priorities were to have a large master bedroom and bathroom with the latest technology such as underfloor heating, an internal vacuum system to keep dust levels down and an integrated audio system throughout the house. Our intention was to create the perfect living space."

Nick and Dawn designed the house in an attractive Georgian style with stone sills and portico that they felt complemented the other properties on the road.

Instead of employing a builder, Nick and Dawn took on the job of project management themselves, sourcing sub-contractors as they went along.

"It was quite a stressful experience but it meant that we were in full control of the build," explains Nick. "There were times when I'd be on my hands and knees scraping the floor on a sunny Sunday afternoon, wondering what I'd taken on but, at the end of the day, it was for our family's benefit."

Miraculously, in just seven months, Nick and Dawn had a new home that was ready to move into. By taking on the design work of the property themselves, they had been able to incorporate all the things on their wish list such as the huge open plan kitchen and family room.

The couple designed the layout of the kitchen with Shaker style solid cherry hand-painted units, granite work surfaces and modern Aga.

Enormous

A central island containing a Belfast sink provides another preparation area and the room is flooded with light from 14 windows and several pairs of French doors that lead out onto an enormous patio of Indian stone.

Nick and Dawn have made sure every room in their home has a "wow" factor.

The sumptuous lounge has a sandstone fireplace with log burner, beautiful window dressings by Simon Boyd in Knutsford and the neutral walls feature dramatic pieces of artwork from Toucan Art in Cheadle Hulme. Throughout the rest of the house the curtains have been made by Nick's mum.

The first-floor master bedroom is a huge baronial room with two chandeliers hanging from a cathedral-style vaulted ceiling scaling the full height of the house, with a supporting wooden `A' frame made out of Douglas Fir adding a rustic charm. Other design touches that add to the effect are the arched window overlooking the garden and the raised platform for the bed.

The limestone master bathroom is as big as a bedroom and has the ultimate in luxury. At one end of the room, steps lead up to a sunken Airbath tiled in limestone mosaic in front of a mirrored wall with recessed lighting at each side. The bathroom has a steam room with Villeroy & Boch fittings and limestone washbasins.

"We both wanted the best possible quality for the bathrooms and we had a lot of help from Finishing Touches in Hazel Grove, who were fantastic," says Nick.

By having a third floor, Nick and Dawn added an extra 700 square feet of space that comprises of a comfortable guest room and en suite. There is also a separate playroom for seven-year-old Isabel that has been beautifully hand-painted with scenes from Peter Pan by Painted World in Staffordshire.

Although the family are now comfortably ensconced in their luxury home and business is booming, Nick wants to do it all again.

He says: "We've learned so much from this build that next time we'd be able to make life much easier for ourselves. I would like us to move somewhere more rural with open views and I fancy recreating a barn from scratch. This time I would employ a fulltime project manager so I could step back from it and concentrate on work."

Nick and Dawn Porter's home is for sale priced £950,000 through Andrew Snape, 31 Station Road, Cheadle Hulme. Telephone 0161 485 2244. Fresh Approach UK can be contacted on 0161 928 3223 or at the website below.

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