09/11/2016
Paola and Ken always knew they wanted to live in an Octagon home, they simply had to bide their time to find the right one in the right place. One or two came close, in fact, they actually bought one a few years back, but for various reasons never actually got to move in. Then three years ago they spotted the perfect location in Esher, it simply had the wrong house on it, an unremarkable 1950s dwelling that had seen better days. Paola and Ken contacted John Pope at Octagon Bespoke to see if he thought this would be an ideal plot for an Octagon Bespoke home. John assured them that their dream house could be built on this site, so, wasting not a moment, Paola and Ken purchased the plot. At this stage Octagon Bespoke took over, to design the house, submit for planning consent, and generally get the whole project underway.
Paola and Ken had a wish list, and one of the first decisions they had to make was where they wanted the staircase, and what style, as this affected the entire layout of their new home. Other requirements were ample space in the study for his and her desks as they both often worked on their respective businesses from home, a spacious self-contained apartment for their housekeeper and her family, and they rather liked the idea of having their own bathrooms and dressing rooms within the Master Suite.
They worked closely with Octagon in-house designer Joe Taylor, and used many recently completed Octagon houses as a rather superior catalogue from which to make their own choices for the kitchen finishes, appliances, bathroom fittings, including tiles and marble shades, wallpapers and lighting.
Fortunately, Paola has a well-trained eye for design and colour, an essential talent for her own successful business, the fabulous 4 Seasons Dress Agency in Esher, where customers can pick up a ‘previously-worn’ Gucci or Chanel for a fraction of the original price. Therefore she enjoyed getting involved in the design and specification for the new house. She commented:
“It was really a straightforward and relatively problem-free experience, especially as we left all the rather complicated planning conversations with the Council, to Octagon. All we had to do was to make selections and decisions for room layouts, specification and style. It was very satisfying to add some personal tweaks like our ‘breakfast bar’ concealed behind a pair of full height kitchen unit doors, where we have everything stored and ready to go for the morning rush.
I loved researching styles and suppliers for our scene stealing hall light, a modern Scandi take on the classic chandelier. When it came to designing the garden, we were rather full-on advising on species of plants and trees. We discovered a wonderful summerhouse at the Chelsea Flower Show, which now takes centre stage at the foot of our rather beautiful garden.”
If you are interested in building your ultimate home with Octagon Bespoke, contact John Pope on 020 8481 7500, who as well as creating a house for a plot you may already own, can assist in securing a plot in your dream location.
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