Peak inside Our Little Church Cottage's home
Everyone dreams of one day owning their perfect home, whether it’s a country cottage or a modern townhouse. We recently asked the nation which features and amenities they think are essential for their dream home and found that front and back gardens, a garage, an en-suite and at least three bedrooms are the most desired*.
Keen to know more about the ‘Forever Homes’ of the nation, we asked four home and lifestyle influencers to open their doors to us and share their stories about how they have achieved their dream homes. Instagram sensation Our Little Church Cottage discusses the search for her dream home, and how it wasn’t exactly love at first sight...
"Having lived in a variety of rental properties and going on to own a gorgeous Victorian terraced property in Cheltenham we thought we knew exactly what we wanted from a forever home. We enjoyed the social aspects of being in the town centre but we longed to be out exploring the countryside with our dalmatian Dexter, for off-road parking and for a bigger outdoor space. We loved our house itself and if we could have picked it up and moved it somewhere else, we would have done.
“After viewing a few ‘not quite right’ properties I stumbled across Church Cottage – a redbrick cottage in a rural village setting. The interior layout didn’t really tick all of my wish list boxes but it was still worth a look.
“When we first viewed the cottage it was far from love at first sight, it looked smaller than the estate agents photos (don’t they all!) and it was crammed with fixtures and fittings more suited to a new-build. The walled garden was a different story, the sunset reflecting onto the church next-door was just magical and the pond covered in lily pads was simply gorgeous. I wasn't completely sold on it, so we went home to ponder. Could I cope with a smaller kitchen? Would we ever get mobile phone signal again? Did we want to spend a lot of money on renovations? And most importantly, would we be happy there?
“We decided to go back for a second viewing, met the neighbours and had a proper look around the village. Everyone was so kind and welcoming and the village was full of rustic charm and we knew we’d found our forever home.
“Since moving in we’ve refurbished the bathroom, cloakroom, living room and entrance hall. We’ve also converted the garage into an office (man cave) and will soon be adding a laundry room to it. I’ve got grand ideas for the bedrooms and would one day love to extend the kitchen, but there is plenty of time for that!
“My top tip when looking for a forever home would be to prioritise the location and what it is about a home that makes you happy. You can do all sorts to the house itself as there is always potential even if it’s hard to see at first but one thing you can’t ever change is the location so it’s really important to get it right.”
Everyone dreams of owning their perfect home, whether it’s a country cottage or a modern townhouse. Take our quiz to find out your Forever Home style.
To read the other blogs in our Forever Home series, visit:
Boo & Maddie
Jade Lisa Home
Apartment Number 4
*Research of 2,000 UK adults undertaken between 20th - 26th March 2019 by 4media on behalf of The Nottingham.
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