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WELCOME HOME A super property
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‘It’s all too beautiful,’ begins the song Itchykoo Park, one of the Small Faces’ biggest hits. Stevie Marriott of Stamford was named after the group’s songwriter and musician but now, he and Zoe Marriott have their own hit on their hands, in the form of their family home... and it’s all too beautiful as well! Toll View is located near the hamlet of Great Casterton, conveniently close to the A1 and A606 near to where the former Great Roman Road toll would have been located.
Stevie is from Stamford whilst Zoe lived in Peterborough and has been a property developer for most of her professional life. Toll View is the third home Stevie and Zoe have renovated together along with many properties for the business – Live In Style Rentals – which they run together.
Their experience in property is – to say the least – vast, which means when they came to create their forever home at Great Casterton, it was always going to be something special... but even so, look at the place; it’s breathtaking! “Our twin boys are now nine years of age, and when they were young we were looking to move back from Hampton – where we lived at the time – to Stamford, closer to the town’s excellent schools.” “We’d driven past the house before on our way to take the boys to football, and when we saw the property had come onto the market we were excited.” “Toll View is only 22 years old, built on the site of an old farmyard so it’s modern, there are great views and it’s in a great location. We moved straight in but felt there was still some scope for improving it.”
“We relocated the kitchen and replaced an existing conservatory with a new kitchen extension, extending a study to create a lot more living space. We also installed bi-fold doors, and now the space is really great for family life and for entertaining.” The kitchen now features living and dining areas, as well as spectacular views over the countryside. It also blurs the boundary between the property’s interior and exterior, making it a great party house. As part of their work, the couple did boring but necessary jobs such as ensuring the roof was in good order and replacing the wiring and plumbing. Into the new space they installed a new kitchen from PDA Kitchens in Peterborough.
“Simon from PDA was amazing! We’ve had a kitchen from him before and we were really happy with it. This one has cashmere white cabinets with Silestone engineered stone surfaces and appliances from Miele and Hotpoint. We’ve installed a Franke boiling water tap as well as a built-in steamer, warming drawer, microwave and steam oven.”
“I hate wires, so everything is integrated and there’s no clutter. We’ve a separate utility, too, so all of the laundry appliances and family paraphernalia is out of the way too.”
The property is arranged over two floors and has a sitting room and games room in
addition to the living kitchen. On the first floor are five bedrooms with a dressing room and en suite to the master bedroom and an en suite to the second bedroom. Each of the bathrooms features imported Italian tiles and bathroom fittings from Porcelanosa. The couple also enlisted Stamford’s Alex Clipston who trades as ‘The Builder’ to build a new master bedroom suite alongside a new garage, with the existing one converted into a games room. This was all completed as one project to extend and improve the property. The couple used Ashley Woodman and Nick Clipston of QKS to create all new windows throughout the property. The games room, is currently under the secondment of Jack and Ollie who use the room either to play pool, football or to flex their fingers on the latest PlayStation games. The fun and games continue in the summer
too with outdoor spaces included several terraces and a sunken seating area, and opted to install rendered planters with some low-maintenance shrubs to ensure that beyond an area of lawn ideal for sunbathing, the family enjoy a neat looking garden that’s maintenance free.
“We absolutely love it here,” says Zoe. “There are three properties here, sufficiently spaced from each other to enable us to be a noisy family without disturbing the other households, but close enough to be a community... we keep in touch via our own What’s App group and look after each other’s houses when we’re away.” “It’s a busy, light, lively house with our dogs, cats and children all enjoying loads of space. We’re hoping to embark on another project, because it seems we can’t just sit down and enjoy the work once it’s done...!” “I’d also like some animals – a goat and a donkey are first on my list – so as I’m planning to create my own zoo some larger grounds might be in order. We’ll miss the place though, it’s been a great family home, and I’m certain the next owners will love it as much as we have!” n
TOLL VIEW, GREAT CASTERTON
Location: Stamford 2.6 miles; Peterborough 16 miles. Style: Refurbished family home with five bedrooms and three receptions currently arranged as living kitchen, sitting room and games room.
Guide Price: OIEO £1,100,000.
Find Out More: Fine & Country, Seaton Grange Barn Offices, LE15 9HT. Tel: 01780 750 200, or see www.fineandcountry.com.
