When you see a house for sale that's 'frozen in time' and boasting features from interiors past, it's likely your first reaction is to imagine how you could transform it into your next home.
And when you find out it is in a sought after area within walking distance to some of Cardiff's most pleasant spots, the interest level surely rises, especially if it's the first time the house has been for sale for over 70 years.
As you step back in time when you visit this substantial three bedroom semi-detached family property, you're stepping back in time into a much-loved family home that has special memories permeating out of every room.
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A hub of family activity for decades, the house has seen it all and absorbed it all, so the atmosphere as you wander around the layers of interior design that the home still showcases, is one of welcoming warmth.
It was a special place for the grandchildren to visit and the memories live on; the past decor and the past memories of the family enjoying this well-loved home are both still in place.
Grandson of the current owners, Darren Beal says: "My grandparents bought the house in 1952 and I especially have great memories spending hours with my nan baking cakes and making dinosaurs out of the dough!"
The kitchen, as it is for so many families, was obviously one of the key hubs of this home and is a frequent backdrop to the most vivid memories of the family visiting nan and grandad.
The room can still boast its original 1930s art deco design inspired wall tiles and practical quarry floor tiles. And a touch of the 1990s can be seen too, via the kitchen units.
There's the pantry still in place too which is a bonus original feature that is now a very popular design addition with people redesigning their kitchen, and a source of envy for many people who don't have one.
Darren says: "Having cooked breakfast with my grandad, he always insisted that I should also have a large knife and fork, and I also remember experiencing Worcestershire sauce for the first time in that house."
The kitchen has a rear cloakroom and access to the garden off its original interior door. And it's here, at the rear of the house, that the potential for the next owner is most obvious, offering the opportunity to extend.
Depending on the renovation project budget, and planning consent, a new owner could construct either a ground floor or a double-storey extension, to create a large and sociable kitchen diner and a fourth bedroom.
There's certainly room in the garden to increase the footprint of the property and retain a good sized outdoor space, and it's out here that more family memories were created and are remembered.
Darren says: "My grandad was an accomplished engineer so I used to watch him making things in his workshop and I remember he had a stutter which became more pronounced the more I got under his feet, but he loved it really."
The house is located in a quiet cul-de-sac in the popular area of Highfields in Llandaff, with the Taff Trail and Hailey Park a few minutes stroll away, and the cathedral and village centre a 15 minute walk from the front door.
With only five family homes sold in the last five years in this quiet area of residential streets lined with period houses tucked away from the main hustle and bustle of the city, this renovation project could be seen as a rare opportunity.
But for the current family, the house still has snippets of happy past memories at its core, that will leave with them when they close the front door for the final time.
Darren's sister Sally Ann Taylor has a specific memory of the front room, which can still boast its original 1930s fireplace and parquet flooring, which has since been joined by classic 1960s light fittings and 1970s pattern carpet.
Sally Ann says: "I remember playing the piano in the front room, all three of us grandchildren sitting on the piano stool when we were very young."
The kitchen and the garden feature in Sally Ann's stand out memories too. She says: "There were picnics in the garden, and baking with nan in the kitchen. She used to hang the pheasants in the parlour before we would help her pluck the feathers out in readiness for Sunday lunch!"
The hall is the first room that treats you to period features when you visit, from the wood parquet flooring to the classic staircase design from the late 1920s and 1930s era.
It is likely that under that staircase panelling that was so popular in the 1960s there are some original, carved spindles, but only some courage and a hacksaw wielded by a careful hand will find out.
The layout is what you would expect from a standard three bed semi, with a second reception room at the rear. This one has added glass doors to the garden which floods the room with light and views, and under the carpet there is probably a view of the continuation of that beautiful wood flooring.
If the budget is smaller than a large extension will allow, then removing the wall between the rear reception room and the kitchen will make the biggest difference, not just in layout but in how the home is used too.
This new, combined space would make this rear area the sociable hub of the home, with cooking, dining, and relaxing all available for the whole family together.
Of course, planning, building control and a professional building company would need to be approached and involved - you don't want to be relaxing in the bath above the kitchen and then suddenly be in the middle of the dining room because the appropriate support structure was not installed to replace the demolished wall.
Hopefully the bath stays exactly where it is, as the bathroom is a feast for the eyes if immersing yourself in past decor trends through the decades is your happy place.
In this room, in this house, it's the 1960s that are dictating the style. With black currently an 'on trend' colour and vintage retro style one of 2022's top interior design trends, maybe the new owner will love it and not list it for sale on eBay. Find out more about what is hot for interiors in 2022 here.
Upstairs, and again it's a standard three bed layout, with two spacious bedrooms front and back, and a smaller single 'box' room above the hall.
As so many people do when renovating a house of this style, there is the opportunity to extend up into the loft to create a fourth bedroom with an ensuite that could easily claim to be a new, spectacular master suite.
Add a Juliet balcony into the loft conversion design to allow optimum access to far-reaching views over the rooftops and parks of the capital. Then add a kettle and mini fridge, and you might never want to come down.
This house in this quiet spot in the city comes with a driveway that can welcome two cars and a bonus garage. The property is being sold with no chain and a lot of past love, and is going to auction via website I Am Sold, with a guide price of £400,000.
Viewings are being held by appointment only with Allen & Harris, Pontcanna, call them on 029 2022 5700 to find out more including the important specifics attached to the auction process, the buyer information pack, timescales and the additional fees attached to this sale. And if you never want to miss the best dream homes in Wales, renovation stories and interiors, join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter, sent out to your inbox twice a week.
