Karen and Simon were previously based in the South East. However, having recently retired, and with their daughter living in Gloucester, they made the decision to move closer, relocating to the Herefordshire countryside. The abundance of beautiful scenery only encouraged this move to relocate from their previous home even more.
Prior to visiting Webbs Meadow, Karen and Simon visited various other locations across Herefordshire and the surrounding counties looking for their perfect plot.
“It was important to both Karen and I that we found a peaceful spot to settle into our retirement with lots of places to walk our dog, while still being in commutable distance to our daughter,” explains Simon.
Having discovered that many other locations were loudly disrupted by passing traffic with limited views and plot sizes, Webbs Meadow was a more than a pleasant surprise to the couple.
“As soon as we visited Webbs Meadow, we were sold by the location and its surroundings; it was idyllic,” says Karen. “Away from the noise of busy highways with clear views of the rolling hills, the decision became a no brainer for us. It was easy to imagine how our home would become a reality on our plot next to the future neighbouring homes. We loved the idea of an oak frame as it gives the sense of warmth and homeliness we want to capture for our forever home.”
With the original design of the house being too large for Karen and Simon’s needs, they decided to work with our in-house Architectural Design team to customise their property to meet their lifestyle requirements. Karen and Simon wanted a comfortable and spacious four-bedroomed home, based around an efficient and compact footprint to ensure ease of living and cost-effective buildability.
“We drew a lot of inspiration for our own build from our stay at Oakwrights’ show home, The Woodhouse,” explains Simon. “The show home encompassed the cosy feel we were looking for while still offering four sizeable bedrooms.”
As a result of this, Karen and Simon’s initial design conversations stemmed around using one of the designs from our Woodhouse range as a starting point. This also allowed the couple to quickly visualise the space and potential layout options presented by different houses in our design portfolio, as well as comparing designs in relation to their total budget.
After an appraisal of the site, it was decided the best way to capitalise on the location was to take our ‘Derndale’ layout which Karen and Simon liked so much and develop it to fit the couple’s requirements with the location in mind. The views, access and orientation were all taken into consideration; the impressive face-glazed gable associated with the Derndale was relocated to make the most of the views while the internal layout and external appearance were re-worked to sit comfortably on the plot. The master bedroom and living spaces were moved to the rear, facing out into the garden and countryside and a new front gable was integrated, providing space for the staircase and the opportunity to bring light into the centre of Karen and Simon’s home.
“ “As soon as we visited Webbs Meadow, we were sold by the location and its surroundings, it was idyllic.” „
“It was important we had enough space for our guests to stay so we worked with Chartered Architect, Craig, to design an additional en-suite as well as a family bathroom,” explains Karen. “We regularly have visitors travelling from abroad, so being able to provide them with a separate living space where we weren’t falling over each other was really important.”
The design was further tailored to Karen and Simon’s requirements when introducing a rear porch, in addition to a lean-to porch to the front. This allowed for the practicalities of arriving home from dog walks in the Herefordshire countryside.
One of our two-bay oak framed garages was also incorporated in the planning drawings, to provide additional utility and work-room space, as well as a bay for additional car parking.
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