Think you're posh enough to live it up pretending to be a Lord or Lady in a Bridgerton-style manor house? But if you don't have over a £1m to splash out on a new home that's the end of that dream then, right?
Take the budget down to around £700,000, still a sizeable chunk, and maybe the chance to have your own 2022 version of Netflix's period drama becomes more achievable at this country manor in Ceredigion?
But this incredible abode is not your usual Welsh mid terrace home, it is the central section of a historic manor house still oozing with character and yet offering huge sociable spaces perfect for modern living.
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What's on offer here is a slice of the historic and unique Grade II* stately home called Trawsgoed Mansion. The six-bed home with some of the best Bridgerton-style original interiors is located in the central wing of a once majestic estate known as Crosswood Park for a similar price to a four-bed detached in some parts of Cardiff.
This estate was originally one property with sprawling 40,000-acres of land, belonging to the Earl of Lisburne, originally known as the Vaughan family. And as well as a stunning rural location and original features, this home offers you a unique history too.
It has been reported that famous guests to the manor situated in the Ystwyth Valley, between the Cambrian Mountains and beautiful Ceredigion coastline near Aberystwyth include Kings Edward VII and Edward VIII, and prime ministers Sir Winston Churchill, Stanley Baldwin and William Gladstone.
If it's grand enough to impress real-life royalty, then surely Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury from the fictional Netflix series would melt at the house that awaits to impress them. But if moving to a mansion is out of your price range or out of the question, here are some tips from interior designers to bring the Bridgerton style to your current home.
The mansion was listed in 1996 as 'the principal country house of the county, with elements of architectural quality from the 17th century to around 1900; especially notable the fine library of about 1840 with 1900 added decoration'.
But the site itself, within the glorious Ceredigion countryside near Aberystwyth, is said to be much older and originally the location of a grange of Strata Florida Abbey, the former Cistercian abbey near Tregaron which was founded in 1164. But the site was turned into a seat of splendour when the Vaughan's built the mansion in the 17th century.
And any guests to this slice of the mansion that you could maybe call your next home are without doubt going to be speechless when they are transported via the private driveway, then they open the front door into a spectacular hall that has the substantial, sweeping staircase that surely every important manor should be able to boast about?
Imagine swishing down this gold accented staircase in a ballgown to greet your guests, or doing it just because you want to swish down your own incredible staircase in a fancy frock. The huge window lantern in the roof floods the stairwell with light as well as character that the oozes from its intricate design.
And who wouldn't want multiple carved newel posts reminiscent of pineapples at the end of each section of banister? It's the extra details that make this home extra special. And no special stairs would be complete without sparkling chandeliers to light your way, as well as bringing the necessary glamour demanded by a house of this stature.
Into the living room and surely it's another 'wow' from your guests, as the huge room is filled with mesmerising gold-framed portraits and enough room for three sofas, a grand piano, a pool table and extra furniture too.
The original features add to the grandness of the space, from the solid wood, internal panelled door to the period fireplace with a Grecian-style column either side. Look up and be impressed by the carved, panelled ceiling that ensures the grandness does not stop at the cornicing.
Of course there's chandeliers in here too, what other light fitting is going to be so fitting for this fancy abode? However, there's so much light streaming in from the massive, square bay window that surely these sparklers are never turned on during daylight hours?
Opposite the enormous lounge is an enormous kitchen diner so large it could double as a ballroom, and seeing as it has French doors to the garden, huge windows and a fancy floor, maybe in the past it was once the central socialising zone in this remarkable mansion?
Now the room is a kitchen diner that can easily welcome a huge kitchen island, plenty of units and a dining area that currently sits up to six but could easily accommodate double that number if the table size was increased.
So now the time is right to enjoy climbing that incredible staircase to the first floor and a warren of huge bedrooms to explore awaits you on the upper two floors - six in total. The master runs the depth of the property, from front to back if you include its ensuite too. Of course it is vast and also boasts a charming stone fireplace as well as stunning rural vistas from the double windows.
The family bathroom is not exactly compact either. It has a shower you can fit at least four people and the statement bath by the window looks dwarfed by the amount of space swirling around it.
Three of the windows have been frosted to protect an occupant's modesty, even though there are no neighbours opposite, but the fourth has been left clear so there's a lovely rural view to enjoy from the free-standing slipper bath.
The fancy interior design worthy of a manor house continues in this bathroom with a chandelier and wall panelling, as well as shutters and a checkerboard floor reminiscent of the kitchen diner downstairs.
Also on this first floor is a second, spacious bedroom with its own unique rural views, and then it's back to the stairs for a trip up to the top floor and four more bedrooms.
On this central landing on the top floor you can inspect the roof lantern structure that actually transpires to be a double window structure, with a lower, enclosed lantern crowned by an apex of glass above.
This upper floor may have been the servants' quarters but if the rooms looked like they do now there shouldn't have been any complaints as each room is spacious, even if they did have to maybe share. The ceilings have been partially lifted into the roof space meaning charming beams and roof rafters are partially exposed to add extra character.
And while renovating this section of the mansion, the current owners have also thought about practical storage as well as potential character with each room boasting built-in storage in eaves and utilising every nook and cranny.
The windows on this floor might be smaller, but the views from this higher level are even bigger and worthy of lingering or creating a peaceful reading spot, with a squishy armchair placed right next to one of the windows. Two of the bedrooms on this top floor also have a period fireplace as an added charming feature.
But this home has so many rooms on offer, that any of the bedrooms could be a home office, a games room, a gym, a media room - anything that a new owner fancies incorporating into the space. And as any period mansion worth considering as a home should offer you, this one has a secret basement not obvious from the front of the building, comprising of four rooms off a central hallway.
These rooms are currently the boiler room, safe room and two large storage spaces, but the agent suggests that the basement has endless potential for conversion into additional rooms, subject to planning and listed building consent of course.
The home has been subjected to a programme of renovation that the agent says needs completing, and they'll be plenty of space for the trades to park, with five metres of space at the front. Plus, with a large rear garden there'll be plenty of space for a new owner to escape any renovation work noise.
This impressive wing of Trawscoed Mansion is for sale for £675,000 with Alexanders Estate Agency, call them on 01970 636000 to find out more. And if you want to find out more about dream homes, renovations and interiors, join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter.
