To find a period property untouched by time and not scarred by some of the questionable interior design styles of past decades is becoming a rarity, and to find one dating back to Edwardian times with its soul intact means you have found an absolute gem.
Treat the original features to a restoration project and ensure they are the core of the house, so that they not only remain but are brought back to life to shine. Then, not only have you saved history and added value to your house, you have also secured a unique dream home that can boast more original features than most.
And if that period gem is located somewhere special too, it can hit you hard with a double desire to secure its ownership. This amazing house on Gower peninsula will set you back £950k if you want to pick up its keys, but what an incredible home you will be getting.
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The three-storey, seven bed house is on a small residential road that meanders through the trees and past hefty and handsome houses to the coast in the Gower village of Langland. The sea is literally at the end of the road, but if this renovation project captures your heart it might be a while before you spend day after day at the beach - there's much to do here.
Looking at the house from the road it might look like it's suffering a little from faded grandeur, but all the features that made it amazing from the day it was constructed are still there - box bay windows, balcony lavished with carved carpentry details, panels of red tiles, and even the original front door.
The handsome house oozes character that fully embraces you as you wander up the garden path. Set back from the road, it is an imposing building that oozes potential and raises excitement for what might be waiting for you inside - and it's a treasure trove of original features that will totally mesmerise you.
Open the front door and the entrance porch begins the journey through the decadent design details of decades past - there's a tiled floor, an inner window and an inner stripped wood door that is robust and remarkable - still in place, still looking stunning, and still a fabulous welcome into the home.
The reception hall is a grand affair - it's been given the space to ensure visitors of a time gone by were instantly impressed by the proportions of the first room they saw, and while they were waiting here to be greeted by their host they would have been treated to seeing wood block floors, ceiling beams, solid wood panelled inner doors, and a very fancy, carved staircase.
And guests wouldn't have felt chilly while they were waiting to be received by their host, as this hall has its own period fireplace to create the most welcoming of atmospheres.
There are four reception rooms to choose from and all of them can boast oodles of character. The drawing room at the front traditionally in period properties is the most impressive space in the house, the largest with the most features to show-off to guests.
And this house is no different - the fireplace and bay window add focal points and the cornicing, picture rails and deep skirtings add the extra flourishes. The room is so generous there is a grand piano along one wall and yet there's still ample space for multiple sofas and chairs.
Into the second reception room behind and this one is not lacking in period features either, from the fireplace, window and picture rail to hopefully more parquet flooring beneath the carpet. Into the third reception room and this one is a stunner because it connects directly out into the garden via a charming set of stripped wood doors that are the showpiece of this space.
The fourth room continues the journey to the rear of the house, with the space labelled as the morning room, which was probably the original kitchen of the house if the quarry tile floor and large fireplace opening, where the boiler now sits, are clues to its design and use in the past.
Through a characterful wood stripped door into the current kitchen and it's a space that is functional but not finessed. It needs confirming with the agent selling the house, but according to Cadw's website the house is not listed so there is scope to create a spectacular kitchen diner and lounge area at the rear of the house.
How about knocking down the walls between the second reception room, morning room and current kitchen - subject to planning permission and building regulations, of course - and the new space will be oozing as much character as the rest of the home.
The maze of rooms on the ground floor offer so much space and scope for a fabulous family home, and this continues across the two upper floors. Climb the fancy staircase, while passing and admiring the stained glass window that accompanies you, and there are four bedrooms, a bathroom and an additional cloakroom to wander around on the first floor.
The master is at the front and can boast its own box bay window as well as access via period French doors to the delightful integrated balcony with its fancy woodwork - the most pleasing addition to the facade of this period beauty.
The master bedroom is spacious and continues the features, with the fireplace a stunning example of a pretty period design, and the coving, picture rails and skirtings found downstairs continuing into this upper level. The lights either side of the fireplace mirror are a fabulous find too, even if they're not up to current safety standards.
There's no carpet in here and that's a bonus as it gives a potential new owner the chance to inspect the quality of the original floorboards and hopefully opt to have them sanded - a honey-toned, original wood floor in this space would look absolutely gorgeous.
The bedroom next door shares the balcony with the master but can also boast its own set of French doors, a pretty fireplace, original floorboards and the bonus of a dual aspect.
Onto bedrooms three and four at the back and their design shows what a high-end, top-of-the-range house this was when it was built. Both of these rooms have their own bay windows, which is unusual to find at the rear of a house, hidden away and out of view and not where people are wandering by and the owner is trying to impress them with the features of their home.
Both of these slumber spaces have a period fireplace too, as well as a view of the garden, and easily have space for a double bed and multiple pieces of bulky bedroom furniture.
Up to the top floor via a separate set of stairs at the rear, which were obviously the servants' stairs, that lead to the servants' quarters in the attic. But don't be fooled into thinking the top floor is a damp and dark level of rooms that are not a real bonus to the house, because they are big, light and also full of character and offer the option to create three more bedrooms.
Maybe a new owner will decide to indulge themselves by creating one incredible master suite on this second floor, or maybe they will decided to indulge the children and dedicate this floor to them, but whatever happens to these spaces, and surely one of them must become a bathroom as there is only one in the house, the top floor is a top addition to the home's accommodation.
Up here, on the second floor, the work needed to ensure the house is watertight and damp free is obvious but, subject to a full survey, giving attention to the roof, chimneys, facias and guttering, as well as checking the windows, is probably the remedy and will ensure the house continues on as a happy and well-loved home for well over another hundred years.
The house is a renovation project but restoration needs to be at the heart of it to ensure the soul of this historic house packed with features is not ripped out - if a new owner wants a sleek, modern interior, then arguably it's not the right house for them, as this house is all about the original features that make it so valuable and so very special.
This handsome home, truly a gem of period features to adore and restore, is on the market for £950,000 with The Greenroom, Mumbles, call them on 01792 986099 to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, auction properties, renovation stories, and interiors - join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter , sent to your inbox twice a week.
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