BSPC Featured Property For Sale

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A semi-detached family home near Lauder that’s come a long way from its farm cottage origins

Lauder is one of the Border’s property hotspots owing to its easy access to Edinburgh via the A68 road and now rail, with a new station nearby in Stow.

The town also has good local facilities, including a new primary school - and falls within the catchment area for the recently built High School at Earlston.

All of which makes it a popular choice for families who want to be able to commute to the city but enjoy the advantages of a small town in picturesque rural surroundings – and Number One St Leonards is a family house that fits the bill on all counts.

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1 St Leonards Farm Cottages

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WHEN YOU’RE BUYING OR SELLING PROPERT Y . . . IT HAS TO BE BSPC

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1 St Leonards Farm Cottages

Located two miles southeast of Lauder, this impressive semi-detached house was a much smaller typical farm cottage when Kim and Kevin Wilson bought it seven years ago. “We just fell in love with the area and the fact that we could commute to Edinburgh in thirty minutes,” says Kim. “And with young children, the large garden was another incentive. We also saw the potential to extend the property and turn it into an ideal family home.”

In fact, the Wilsons didn’t build a simple extension – they actually doubled the size of the property by adding an outstanding open-plan living/dining/kitchen space on the ground level, with a spacious en suite master bedroom and family bathroom on the floor above.

Featured Property 1 St Leonards Farm Cottages, Lauder

In Region Of £290,000 • Details on: Page 22

The new layout also includes the original entrance vestibule and hall, cloakroom, good-sized fitted utility, original sitting room and two further upstairs bedrooms, one with an original fireplace.

The family also invested in sophisticated additions, including a Sonos multi-room sound system integrated throughout the house, while the main living area has internal wiring for a surround sound system – the outside deck is also fully wired for external speakers.

The new open-plan living area is the undoubted star of this home owing to the way the L-shaped space has been configured to give a sun lounge with windows/doors on three sides including French doors to the deck and a partial wall housing a double-sided multi-fuel stove forming the focal point in the dining area and kitchen on the other side.

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“We just fell in love with the area and the fact that we could commute to Edinburgh in thirty minutes,”

Finished to a high specification throughout, the kitchen is fitted with quality wall and base units with contrasting laminate worktops, red splashback tiling, integrated appliances, island breakfast bar and a large Americanstyle freestanding fridge freezer (included). Also a notable feature, the ground level has wide-plank solid oak flooring, which is particularly striking in the welcoming entrance hall.

While the extended living area is the hub for everyday family living, having a separate sitting room is always an added advantage - this one is carpeted and has a double aspect with windows at the front and French doors onto the rear deck. It also has an attractive stone fireplace, open fire and tiled hearth.

Upstairs, the master bedroom has two sets of built-in wardrobes with sliding doors, natural wood finishes, Velux windows and a spacious en suite shower room with corner shower, vanity basin and attractive tiled splashback.

On the same level, the family bathroom is notable for its generous size and freestanding roll-top bath with claw feet, which is bathed in light from a Velux skywell above.

Completing the first floor, bedroom two is another large double bedroom with plenty of room for freestanding furniture and still space to double as a playroom. The original fireplace is now a decorative feature. The third bedroom has a partly coombed ceiling, oak flooring and hatch with ladder access to the floored attic – carpeted with lighting running the length of the highest central point, it currently makes an ideal space for a Scaletrix track – or alternatively, a train set.

Outside, an outstanding rear garden ensures this home’s desirability before you even step across the threshold. A real labour of love – all undertaken by Kim and Kevin – the garden includes an extensive area of decking next to the house (accessed from both the sitting room and sun lounge) with spaces for dining and sitting and an arbour over the stair access.

Beyond the decking, attractive stone walls border wellstocked sloping flower beds on either side of stone steps leading to tiered lawns, another sizeable planted bed – and at the top, bounded by a low-level child-safe fence, is a dedicated children’s play area with an assortment of play equipment and trampoline.

The Wilsons also built a wall at the front of the house and added raised beds and pretty planters. There is also a chipped parking area at the front.

Number One St Leonards has come a long way from its farm cottage origins to make an outstanding family home in an accessible and very desirable location.