Ribble Valley resident builds her dream home from scratch – then lists it for sale

‘It evolved as we went along, and every inch of it has had my input. I love the view of our land out of the windows too, and the wildflower meadow we created just beyond the brow of the hill. We also planted nearly 1000 trees and 4000 hedge plants.

‘I honestly wouldn’t change a thing’ Sarah Lynas tells Lancashire Life magazine of her spacious family home at Lane Ends, between Slaidburn and Grindleton.

Which begs the question, why is she leaving?

‘It’s in my nature to need a project, I get immense satisfaction from renovating and refurbishing properties, I’ve done it with my last four or five houses, and obviously this one was built from scratch.

Sarah solved a stepped wall with display shelving (photo Kirsty Thompson) ‘It was completed at the end of 2019, and then I moved on to designing the self-contained holiday lodge in the grounds. Once that was done, I began to feel a little restless. I’ll be heartbroken to leave when the time comes, but having nothing left to do on a house is not for me.

‘When people talk about their ‘forever home’ it’s a foreign concept to me. I’m always imagining and planning the next one.’

Sarah, who lives with husband Phil, son Ollie, four cats, a dog, three alpacas, and a handful of chickens is entirely undaunted by major renovations and grand designs. ‘I refuse to buy into the idea that building projects are inherently stressful. They’re only stressful if you allow them to be. If you choose to let problems wash over you until you can resolve them in a calm and considered way, there’s no reason it can’t be a pleasant experience for everyone involved.

‘Obviously there’ll always be challenges – like when a crane travelled all the way from Norfolk to lower our skylights into place and one of them didn’t fit.

The bungalow’s proximity to the house made its demolition a nail-biting experience (photo Sarah Lynas) ‘I think the crane driver expected me to hit the roof. Eventually he asked why I wasn’t flipping out at the builders about the aperture being too small. But stamping my feet and swearing wasn’t going to make it fit, so what would have been the point?’ She shrugs. ‘He lowered it onto the roof, then we made him a cup of tea and sent him home. The builders altered the opening so it could be lifted in by hand the following day.’

It seems Sarah thrives on problem solving and restoring order to chaotic situations.

A minor oversight during the build actually became one of her favourite features of the house; ‘There ended up being a slight difference where the hallway wall met the stairs wall, with one sitting around six inches proud of the other. Rather than having a straight vertical line between them, I got my graph paper out and planned out a way for them to ‘blend’ into each other. It created the ideal integrated shelving and became an intentional design feature that I still love to admire while I’m sitting at the dining table.

Pocket doors mean that kitchen units can be left open, or closed for a sleeker effect. ‘I enjoy combining function and form, so that even the basic necessary elements of a home contribute to its overall style. Rather than simply boxing in the pipework, for example, and working around a protruding column, we turned it into a deep and inviting window seat where you can sit and enjoy watching the barn owls swooping backwards and forwards.’

The house is unfussy and has quite a pared back Scandinavian feel to it, with lots of wood and other natural materials as well as huge windows letting sunlight flood into every corner. Sarah even chose a green carpet to blur the line between the interior and the grassy landscape outside.

While she led the design, specification and build of the project, there were two elements that were specially requested by her family; ‘Ollie asked specifically if we could include a secret door somewhere, so the bookcase on the landing leads into his bedroom. You tip one of the books to open it, and people really do walk past it without noticing.

Sarah’s son suggested a secret door (photo Kirsty Thompson) ‘And Phil really wanted a cinema room, so we designed that in the basement where it’s quiet and could be made quite immersive.’

Despite the very natural and tranquil feel of this home, there is a wealth of technology tucked away within its fabric. In place of simple light switches are a host of control options for each room. If you press ‘cinema’ in the basement, you can make your way to a comfy sofa as the lights dim, the blinds close, the curtain automatically slides across to separate it from the rest of the space, the gently twinkling ceiling star lights come on and the screen lights up ready to watch a movie, football match, or simply get stuck into the latest Netflix drama.

The five-bedroom house is set in seven acres of land and features a number of sustainable features that suit its surroundings, including private spring water supply and ground source heat pump.

Sarah’s dedication to detail meant the en-suite and shower were designed to fit her chosen tiles, not vice versa For those of us who envy Sarah’s seemingly zen-like approach to building projects, she offers a simple tip for a stress-free site: ‘Go with your gut when it comes to tradespeople. If you have misgivings about someone, but choose to go with them based on price it’s likely to come back and bite you, often costing more in the long run. We chose teams that we had a really good feeling about. Instinctively, we had more trust in them and everyone worked well together, all pulling in the same direction.

‘Also – providing ice creams on the hottest days, or occasional pies when it’s chilly goes a long way to keeping everyone happy!’

The one aspect of the project that Sarah admits caused an element of stress came right at the end: ‘We originally bought the plot with a bungalow on it, and that’s where we lived while the build was completed.

 

‘It was very close – which was ideal for me as project manager. But it was a hairy couple of days when we eventually moved in and they began to demolish the bungalow. There was barely six feet between the two houses, so it was quite nerve-wracking.’

Always thinking about the next project – when asked if she’ll undertake a complete design and build again – Sarah replied ‘Not this time. I think I’d like to renovate our next house.

‘But who knows? Maybe the one after that…’

For more amazing properties, see the latest edition of Lancashire Life magazine 

At time of writing, Bambers Croft is listed with estate agent Simon Padgett; enquiries to simon.padgett@kwuk.com

Source – INDIA TV