11 minute read
HOMES Christmas decorations and candles from local retailers.
BEAUTIFUL HOMES forBEAUTIFUL HOMES for CHRISTMAS
There’s nothing more enjoyable than creating your festive home to delight family and visitors, so here’s our selection of local stockists for beautiful decorations...
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Top: Scatter stars, £15/set of 20, from The White Company, Stamford, 01780 769192, www.thewhite company.com. Table runner from Hunters Interiors, 01780 757946, www.huntersinteriors ofstamford.co.uk. Above/Right: Pre-lit snowy pine wreath, £39.50, M&S, www.marksandspencer.com.
Right: Sophie Allport Home for Christmas. Hand roller towel, £16; Double oven glove £24; Tea towels £19.50/two, Stamford or Bourne, call 01780 751044, www.sophieallport.com.
Nordmann Fir Christmas tree, 7.5ft, £595; The White Company, Stamford, www.thewhitecompany.com.
Stamford & Rutland Interiors: Broughtons: Leicester, 0116 2341888,www.broughtons.com. Delcor Interiors: Stamford, 01780 762579, www.delcor.co.uk. Elizabeth Stanhope Interiors: Oakham, 01572 722345, www.elizabethstanhope.co.uk. H-Works: 01780 754605, www.hworksdesign.co.uk. Hunters of Stamford: 01780 757946, www.huntersinteriorsofstamford.co.uk. M&S: www.marksandspencer.com. Sarah Harding Interiors: Uppingham, 01572 823389, sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk. Sophie Allport: 01780 751044, www.sophieallport.com. The White Company: 01780 769192, www.thewhitecompany.com.
Gift Inspiration and Cosy Coffee Breaks
We have a wide selection of homewares, accessories and gifts to tempt you including Christmas scented candles, candle holders, table linen, tealights and much more. Then you can tuck into a hearty soup with fresh sandwiches, or enjoy a delicious cake, all served with the best coffee and a warm welcome at the Hayloft.
Open Monday – Saturday, 9.00 am – 4.00 pm
The Hayloft, Copthill Farm, Uffington, Stamford PE9 4TD Call 01780 753351
Four Christmas Scents
Enjoy the meditative flicker of candlelight and a soothing festive scent this month
1. Orange and cinnamon, Winter Woodland reindeer candle, £9.95, wide range of styles and scents available.
Stamford Garden Centre/Sack Store, 01205 310101.
3. Branch D’Olive boxed candles, hand-poured and hand-finished, frosted jars for a warm glow, mellow fig scent. Diffusers and room spray also available.
Sarah Harding Interiors, Uppingham, 01572 823389, www.sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk 2. Spiced Orange and Red Berry diffuser and votive gift set from Plum & Ashby, £29/ea, at Hunters Interiors, Stamford.
Hunters Interiors, 01780 757946, www.huntersinteriorsofstamford.co.uk.
4. The Elizabeth Stanhope no.12 candle is a blend of amber, lemon and cedarwood, £32.
Elizabeth Stanhope, Oakham 01572 722345, www.elizabethstanhopeshop.com.
Carefully selected artists from the Royal Academy, Royal Institutes, Federations and Societies
Peter Wileman FROI FRSA RSMA | Summer Turns to Autumn | 20” x 24” | £3500
5-8 The Mews • The George Hotel • Stamford • PE9 2LB Tuesday - Sunday from 11am to 5pm | 01780 480800
Also at Lees Yard • Holt • Norfolk | Monday - Saturday 10am - 4pm | 01263 713883
Please visit the website to view and purchase our artworks www.adrianhillfineart.com
Change and Opportunity
After a series of unprecedented changes in the UK, Kate Vincent from Garrington Property Finders discusses how opportunities still exist in the local property market for the well-advised buyer.
It is well known that markets do not like uncertainty, and this is never truer than in the property market, where transactions are typically for the long term and significant in value. Seismic changes to the country and economy over recent months has affected confidence levels, and for homeowners this has created a nervousness to sell until a new property has been identified to buy. As such, many sellers are now more tentative and cautious, often seeking to quietly find a buyer in a measured and more structured way. In a market where opportunities are elusive and increasingly hidden from view, how can buyers secure their next home?
Where do opportunities exist locally?
The apparent shortage of prime properties for sale across Stamford and Rutland, has resulted in some homeowners deferring plans to put their properties on the open market for fear of being pressurised to move out before they have had a chance to find a place to buy. Where previously a seller might have considered moving into rented accommodation as a temporary solution to facilitate a sale, with rental prices rising and the availability of rental property falling, sellers are less willing to adopt this approach as a stopgap. Consequently, an increasing number of homeowners are discovering the benefits of discreetly selling their home away from the usual pressures associated with openly marketing a property. For buyers, tapping into this secretive market is not always easy, but can provide an exciting wealth of opportunities for those in the know.
How do property finders buy discreetly?
A clear distinction between a property finder and an estate agent is that the former acts solely on behalf of buyers. As a result, there is no reason why every estate agent in the area would not share details of a confidential property with a fellow property professional with whom they work on a regular basis and trust for their discretion. Indeed, Garrington is one of the first to hear when an exceptional property might be coming available and are often one of the earliest to view.
In addition, property finders use their extensive local network to gain access to homeowners who would prefer a direct introduction to perhaps only one buyer. In this way they can save on selling fees and work collaboratively with the buyers to agree a price and timing for the transaction to take place. Garrington is also able to identify potential off-market opportunities using proprietary software that can filter all properties not currently on the open market, which may be available for sale privately.
Get help
Engaging in discreet property transactions presents opportunities to purchase in an exclusive arena and at a different pace than in the open market. However, it is not always easy to gain access to this market and the negotiations and brokering of a deal takes skill and experience. Garrington has extensive knowledge of the ‘off-market’ aspects of the local property market and can bring buyers and sellers together effectively to the mutual benefit of all.
If you are contemplating moving home over the coming months and would value objective advice from an independent specialist, get in touch with Kate.
Kate Vincent Garrington
Tel. 01780 408377. Email info@garrington.co.uk www.garringtoneastmidlands.co.uk
DREAM KITCHENS by MOIR WADE
T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, because this satisfied customer of Leicester-based Moir Wade was enjoying her brand new bedroom, commissioned six and a half years after the company also created her dream kitchen, too...
Words: Rob Davis.
ANYTHING MISSING? Anything that’s perhaps been accidentally overlooked, or forgotten about? Nope. That’s because Yvonne chose to work with Leicester’s Moir Wade when she had her kitchen designed and crafted back in 2016, asking the company to return earlier this year to create her new bedroom, too. “It never crossed my mind to use anyone else,” she says. “I’m certain that there were less expensive options when I started considering what I wanted for my bedroom, and I knew Moir Wade weren’t the cheapest but they were the best value in the sense that you know the attention to detail, quality and the working relationship that the company invests in making sure they get everything right. Sure enough, they’ve proved their worth the second time around as well.” Back in 2016 Yvonne wanted a new kitchen for her 1970s property, a home she describes as being stuck in a time-warp when she moved in. Having seen a friend’s Moir Wade kitchen before, she was sure the company knew their stuff, but was still surprised by the gulf between Moir Wade and other companies. “I’d approached five companies including Moir Wade, and these were independent cabinet makers and kitchen companies, all professing to provide bespoke kitchens – they weren’t multinational companies or builders’ merchants.” “The worst experience was when one firm sent around a very young chap and I explained what I wanted, only for him to return having disregarded most of my preferences. Worse still, he’d ‘designed’ the whole kitchen but had forgotten to include an oven! There was absolutely nothing to cook on in his plan!” “By contrast, my experience with Moir Wade has been the best working relationship I’ve ever had. They’re brilliant listeners, never pushy. Their designers are responsive to what the client says and they always understood the vision I had for my home.” >>
>> “The attention to detail extended to taking my cutlery to their workshop to have a custom-designed 10-section cutlery drawer made, into which everything fits exactly, and to having a plywood template of the island the exact size and shape I thought I wanted sitting in my existing kitchen so I could live with it for three weeks.” The cabinets in Yvonne’s kitchen are made of oak, some of which are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue. The boomerang-shaped island quite intentionally creates a ‘zone’ for cooking and one for socialising, enabling Yvonne to spend time with guests without them being in the business end of the room when she’s busy. The company created the tall larder cupboard to Yvonne’s specifications including four drawers deep enough to accommodate bread and cereal boxes plus a shelf to accommodate the toaster and coffee machine. The door-shelves are enclosed to prevent little jars or loose stock cubes tumbling out, and there’s a tall, narrow cupboard to store large serving platters. Underneath this are three built-in chopping boards and two built-in trays which are all created in the same oak as the cabinetry. Appliances are all Siemens – an induction hob; warming drawer; steam oven; oven/microwave combo, plus fridge with separate drawer freezer – and the hardware is brushed nickel.
“It’s a fantastic kitchen. Six and a half years on, it still looks as good and works just as well. I wasn’t sure about the Stiffkey Blue shade at first but Jim encouraged me to trust him. I did, and I loved it then... but I love it even more now!”
“When I came to redesign my bedroom there was nobody else I’d trust and so I approached Moir Wade and the room was completed at the end of August. I’ve travelled to some beautiful places so my aim was to create a Caribbean hotel bedroom look – light and airy with limed wood and some bright pops of colour.” “The built-in wardrobes are all different inside; a half-and-half hanging one, a full-length hanging space, a half-height rail with four drawers and then one with four shelves. Inside the wardrobes are the same handles used elsewhere in the room. There’s internal lighting to make the contents easier to see, and the wardrobes match the two bedside cabinets which have the leads for phone chargers and bedside lights in-built, so there are no trailing cables.” “Moir Wade created the headboard, upholstered in a chenille fabric, and designed and installed the walnut panelling behind it. There’s also a dressing table, with mirrored finish to reflect natural light upwards when I’m applying makeup. It all looks and works beautifully.” “The install was amazing and the craftsmanship is superb, right down to details like achieving the right degree of limewashing. The company is a pleasure to deal with, and I’d have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone.” n
Find Out More: Moir Wade is based on Nelson Street, Syston, Leicester LE7 2JQ. Call 0116 269 5915 or see www.moirwade.co.uk for a free, no obligation, pressure selling-free discussion about your project.
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