S


oon after tying the knot, Euan and Fiona Coleman eagerly settled into what they thought would be their forever home in Essex. However, after the arrival of their first child and with a second on the way, it quickly became apparent that their house and its location couldn’t cope with the needs of the expanding Coleman clan. Fiona elaborates further: “Once we had children, our requirements changed. And the lack of nearby amenities meant we had to drive everywhere, it wasn’t convenient.”


TICKING THE BOXES The couple’s wish list was fairly straightforward: a detached home with an open-plan layout, which would ideally be located in a community- oriented setting. Expanding their property search to Hertfordshire paid off; it didn’t take long for them to discover an “almost perfect” property in Bengeo, a suburb of Hertford, which ticked most of their boxes. However, she says that buying it was a decision that was somewhat done on the hoof, “it wasn’t something we planned, we just fell in love with the house and everything around it, and decided to take the plunge!”


Nestled along a small and quiet residential road, the property is surrounded by an


34 www.sbhonline.co.uk


abundance of greenery, with gardens that also offered a good amount of privacy. From a practical standpoint, the property is within walking distance of the town, with supermarkets and train station – making the location ideal for Euan’s London commute. After securing the 1980s-built property, they engaged JW Bespoke Architecture and Interior Design to transform their vision into a reality via a full renoation. The house had fie bedrooms, but the upstairs bedrooms were on the small side, despite the overall footprint being “actually quite large,” says Fiona. They wanted to create six better sized bedrooms, “which we probably don’t need, but we have large families, so it’s three guest rooms.” Although new to home renovations, the couple were undeterred by the work involved. Luckily, the property had already had some planning permission in place; the previous owners had etended the ground oor but didn’t get around to expanding the upstairs. “We saw the potential of what the upstairs could be,” Fiona adds, which was a big factor that pushed them to put in an offer. In an effort to speed up the process, the


architect surveyed the house and drafted plans before the couple’s purchase was completed. This approach, while somewhat unconventional,


jan/feb 2024


HIGH POINT


Seeing the oor to ceiling glazing installed in the downstairs open plan space; the majestic impact was immediate.”


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