A Change of Heart

Friends of Christine and Keith thought they had taken leave of their senses when after 25 years of living in a beautiful house that backed onto a lake, they announced they were planning to move.

It was not a decision they made lightly. Their son had grown up in that house and it held many fond memories. Now they needed something more manageable, but they didn't want to give up the luxury of large, well proportioned rooms.

Finding a smaller property with large rooms was the challenge they presented to local estate agents. Eventually they came across an old Cheshire hall that was being converted into eleven separate dwellings.

They selected a wing at the back of the house which included a small family chapel. This they knew, would make a splendid main living room. There was also an outdoor swimming pool, although they were not convinced that Cheshire summers would give them a lot of opportunities to use it.

As they were in on the alterations right at the beginning, they were able to work with the architect George Tsiantsar and the developer/builder John Dempsey, to create a home that would suit their needs.

The architect configured the space to include three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a small hall. The chapel would become the main sitting room and he designed a suspended mezzanine floor for Keith to use as a study. This would increase the floor area while maintaining the tall windows and preserving the vaulted space.

All the couple needed now was a kitchen, so George Tsiantsar suggested an extension on the site of the swimming pool, inspired by a Victorian orangery. This was what the Victorians might have added themselves at the time, so it would look totally in keeping. With brick walls, large windows and just one roof light, it would make the most of the surrounding views, but never get overheated, an important consideration as the extension would face South…

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