FINDING the Right Home in the Right Area
FINDING the right home in the right area at an affordable price can be like
trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Eight years ago, Kirstie and Andrew Hawkins were renting in Heaton Moor, Stockport
when they decided it was time to buy.
"Heaton Moor has to be Stockport's best-kept secret," says Kirstie. "We
had lived in Didsbury which is great for bars and restaurants but we found Heaton
Moor to be really well connected for travelling into Manchester and it has a nice
family atmosphere. Property-wise it offered better value, you get a lot more for
your money.
Having signed up with a local estate agent, the couple were shown an imposing
four storey Victorian terrace on a leafy residential road opposite Heaton Moor
Park.
Kirstie recalls: "It had been owned by the same family for about 40 years
and, in truth, they hadn't done much to it during that time. Although the condition
of the house was a little bit daunting, I could see how much potential there
was to turn it into a modern family home. Fortunately we were the first people
to see it so we didn't waste any time in snapping it up."
Kirstie and Andrew had lots of plans to change the internal layout of the property
but, instead of starting the work straight away, they decided to live in the
property as it was to see which ideas were most practical.
Although the house needed a lot of updating in terms of fittings, all the original
Victorian features such as cornices, picture rails and architrave were still
in place and perfectly preserved. Each of the five bedrooms had an ornate cast
iron fireplace as well as the two large reception rooms on the ground floor.
With their love of contemporary style and open space the couple set about creating
a family home that has the best of both worlds: period elegance with clean lines
and practical storage solutions. They worked together with an architect to redesign
the ground floor of the house.
"Our priority was to open up the living space and create more natural light
flowing through," says Kirstie. "One of the first things we did was make
a larger living room by completely taking out the wall between the two reception
rooms. We really wanted this to feel like one complete room not two rooms knocked
together."
To achieve this, the couple took out the second fireplace in the back half of
the room and created a double doorway leading from the hallway with bespoke panelled
doors in American oak designed by their architect. This gives a sense of flowing
open space.
Herringbone
The living room itself has an effective combination of old and new with vertical
column radiators mounted adjacent to the original sash windows. The oak parquet
flooring laid in a herringbone pattern came from an old church.
With family living in mind, Kirstie had the clever idea of fitting a large recessed
cloak cupboard into the hall wall where the old doorway into the living room
had been, thus ensuring that their entrance hall is always clutter free.
"We both love a minimal contemporary look but to do this you have to think
very carefully about storage," explains Kirstie. "Now that we have
two children - Emma, three and Will, one - it's even more important that we have
places for everything."
At the end of the hallway is the dining kitchen. This modern, well-designed space
is filled with natural light from three floor-to-ceiling glass doors that fold
back and extend the kitchen onto the raised decking beyond creating an outdoor
room. "When we moved into the house, this room was quite dark with a small
window overlooking the garden and a lean-to at the end," explains Kirstie. "We
took all this down, added the French style café doors and simplified the
space with clean lines. It's the room we spend most of our time in and it flows
effortlessly into the garden."
Kirstie chose a Siematic kitchen in beech from CP Hart with glass work surface
and limestone floor tiles. The practical layout of the units creates a division
between the cooking and eating areas that works well for the family.
Upstairs the bedrooms are all spacious and beautifully presented. The top floor
has its own stylish shower room tiled in limestone ideal for when guests come
to stay.
With four floors, this Victorian terrace has tardis-like proportions and in the
last year Kirstie and Andrew have spent a lot of money converting the basement
to add to their living space. A completely self-contained floor it comprises
of a living room with original fireplace brought down from upstairs, fully fitted
kitchen, limestone tiled wet room, storage room with built-in cupboards and access
to the garden.
The couple have pushed the boat out when it comes to design features. The walnut
staircase has sensor- controlled halogen lighting and a contemporary inset glass
panel. The rooms havebeen fitted with Pergo laminate walnut flooring.
Versatile
"We love the basement as it's very versatile space," says Kirstie. "At
the moment we use the front room as a playroom for the children which works really
well. I have a utility room that is effectively a second kitchen, which is so
convenient and we created the ultimate wet room that even has a heated mirror.
We blew our budget on this project but it was well worth it."
Throughout the house, Kirstie and Andrew have added stylish touches with the
best quality fittings to create a feeling of luxury. All their door furniture,
for instance, is ergonomically designed in brushed steel from Valli & Valli.
"We went a bit mad with the iron mongery. Each handle cost over £100
and there are a lot of doors in this house!"
Just as the family were beginning to enjoy the fruits of their labours, they
have had to put the house up for sale due to Andrew's job being relocated.
"It's taken us a few years but we feel that we have really transformed the
house," says Kirstie. "One of the things I shall really miss is the
wonderful view of the Manchester skyline from our top floor window.
"It's fantastic when the sun goes down and on Bonfire Night the skylights
up.
"We thought this would be our long-term home so we have really put everything
into it and shall be sad to leave it behind."
