THE BSPC PROPERTY GUIDE / FEATURE PROPERTY
A house like no other, this early Georgian lodge in Kelso is a period gem Love at first sight is a phenomenon that also extends to houses, sometimes for reasons that are not at all obvious – as was the case with Sarah Murrell when she and her husband John came to view Pinnaclehill Lodge one very wet Sunday 20 years ago. “Back then the interior wasn’t a pretty sight, all pink gloss woodwork and nicotine-stained Artex,” Sarah recalls. “The kitchen was advertised as having a ‘beamed’ ceiling, which turned out to be exposed rafters that hadn’t been covered by plaster board. And there was no garden – no plants at all, just some really bad grass. But I loved it instantly, and unlike John, was able to imagine how it could look.” As an artist, vision comes easily to Sarah and it won her the three bedroomed house. Since then, she and John have completely refurbished the interior in keeping with the age and character of the lodge house, which was built in the early 1800s and stands at the entrance to a former mansion house at Pinnaclehill. More dramatic still, the Murrells have created the most spectacular mature gardens, complete with organic vegetable garden, woodland, hideaway seating area and a stream that feeds into a waterfall and pond. Every tree, shrub, plant and pebbled path has been carefully thought out to provide interest, colour or a shady retreat. There’s also a timber summerhouse, with double doors that open up the whole of the front – a peaceful retreat with a view that would inspire the artist in anyone.
As it is now, it would be very difficult NOT to fall madly in love with this property. The secluded setting gives the feeling of being in the country miles from anywhere, when in fact Kelso’s cobbled town centre is only a ten-minute walk through the park. An immediate feature is the arched windows and unusual angled walls and Sarah and John have gone to great lengths to maintain the period look of the interior. “There were only two original barn-style planked doors here but we had more hand-made to make them all the same,” Sarah adds. The fireplace in the living room is reclaimed and came from a mansion house in the Grange in Edinburgh – now the timber surround and decorative tiled inset houses a Living Flame gas fire. The layout includes a hall, spacious main bedroom with two arched windows on either side (both fitted with shutters) and space for freestanding furniture.
There are two further bedrooms – one currently used by Sarah as an artist’s studio – living room with arched windows on three sides, bathroom, and a 15ft dining kitchen, which has been re-fitted in farmhouse style with bespoke wooden furniture, Belfast sink and antique taps, beech butcher’s block worktops, gas hob and integral oven. Split stable-style doors to the larder (which also has space for laundry appliances) and to the garden complete the look. Seldom does a property come along that combines so many outstanding features. The early Georgian house is quirky, spacious and has been sympathetically refurbished, and the gardens are bountiful as well as beautiful with a ready supply of organic home grown vegetables. An all-round gem.
Pinnaclehill Lodge Kelso Offers Over £225,000 Details on page 33
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