A property branded 'the best sustainable home' is now on the market. The family home, located in Southwell in Nottinghamshire, is built within a Georgian walled garden.
The Garden House, located within the plot of the former vegetable garden at Westhorpe Hall, has been created over the last 20 years by Anna and Allan Joyce. It has been described by leading estate agent Gascoines, which has brought it to market, as ‘a masterpiece’ of thoughtful and efficient design.
The £1.5m glass-fronted property features a roof terrace and has five bedrooms, a home office, studio, workshop and three outbuildings. Situated within a beautiful walled garden that dates back to the 1790s, landscape designer Anna and her architect husband Allan wanted a sustainable home that was also ‘fun’ for their family.
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Now their children are older, the couple say they are ready for new adventures and believe it’s the perfect time to hand the keys to a new owner. Anna said: “We’ve loved living in Westhorpe and it’s been the perfect base to raise our children. We’ve made so many fantastic memories here in the house and surrounding gardens – it’s been like our own little oasis.
“We created the house to be a functional, efficient and, most importantly, a fun home. We knew we wanted to invite the outdoors in with clever architecture and ample outdoor areas, including a roof terrace, raised beds and a pond.
“Due to the design within the walled garden, the house actually has its own microclimate, offering fantastic protection from the British weather and complete privacy – you'd never know the house was here.”
The estate agent said the property was named by The Daily Telegraph as the Best Sustainable Home. An energy consultant was employed during the build to ensure running costs would be low and the temperature controlled, with features like passive solar design and complete insulation and with robust materials including oak used throughout.
Allan, the architect behind the space, said: “It’s rare these days to have a home that offers so much space but is also efficient to run. Living sustainably is incredibly important to us and led me to install a rainwater harvesting system and a heat recovery and solar collection to ensure as an architect I have the lowest impact on the planet. Our home is still the most sustainable building I’ve ever designed.”
The spacious property’s three outbuildings include a garage, potting shed and multi-purpose storage, which currently houses windsurfing equipment. Anna added: “The house has so much potential, we hope someone comes in and makes fantastic use of it. We’ve often wondered about using some of the additional space for an annexe or home business - the house was designed with flexibility in mind so there’s scope to make it your own.”
Luke Saywell, director at Gascoines, said: “An opportunity to live in a property like this doesn’t come around often; it’s one of a kind and we’re looking forward to working with Allan and Anna to find the next owners. The property has so much to offer to a range of buyers and we know the next owners will fall in love with the unique design, sustainable features and endless potential it has to offer. We’d highly recommend viewing in person to get a real feel for the space and surroundings.
To find out more you can speak to one of the local property experts at Gascoines on 01623 792939 or see the full details and book a viewing on the website.
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