HUB

Absolutely goes behind the scenes of a stunning property near Ascot, which is generating plenty of interest

Words MARK KEBBLE

Having been privy to a fair few photoshoots in my time in journalism, location is everything. Yes, you can work in a studio and control things a little more, but there is nothing quite like getting out on patch and finding somewhere stunning that perfectly fits the bill for what you had in mind – and that’s exactly the thought that crossed Claire Macdonald’s mind.

“We have received so many lovely compliments from people walking past the house and from family and friends that I really wanted to do something with it,” she smiles. “A friend introduced me to Styled home studios, which gave me the idea of renting the property to creatives and photographers for their brand and film shoots.”

But let’s rewind. It was back in 2014 when Claire and her family moved back to the UK from Australia and purchased the Berkshire property. “The thing we fell in love with was the location of the property and the garden,” Claire explains. “The property is situated on a quiet lane in Warfield, near Ascot. I remember the first time we came to look at the house, walking down the garden and seeing the gorgeous stream and views over the fields. We fell in love with it.”

They always had an inkling that it would be a future project, which started in earnest in 2019. “Having grown up in Bournemouth and lived in Australia for several years, I was keen to bring that style and design to Berkshire,” Claire explains. “I really love open plan living, much like you get in the houses in Australia. Having a young family, it was important to create space we can all live in and use together. The houses in Bournemouth are very similar in style to Australia, very modern, lots of glass to let light in, and some even have the living space on the first floor to be able to catch views of the harbour. Space, light and height were at the forefront of our design.”

Once work had started, problems started to rear their head, however. “The winter of 2019 was a very wet one,” Claire recalls. “We were asked to dig footings of 2.7m, which was more than double what we had budgeted for. As the builders were digging the footings, they were just filling with water which had to be pumped out. This added time and money to the project. Shortly after the weather improved in spring 2020, Covid hit. The UK went into lockdown and our builders stopped working. Supply issues started and materials became more and more difficult to get hold of.”

They battled through, though, and the finished article is stunning. Simply stepping through the front door is an experience, with a double height entrance hall featuring an eye-catching light and a cantilevered staircase greeting you. “We always wanted a grand entrance and hallway,” Claire smiles. “My husband is 6ft6 so height for us is very important. Inspired by the glass features we’d seen in Australian homes we took to websites such as domaine.com.au, and we drove around areas in Bournemouth and Alderley Edge, where my husband grew up. There are so many beautiful houses with this sort of style. We love the floor to ceiling glass in the entrance and we knew we needed a statement piece to light it up.

“We found inspiration for the staircase on places like Pinterest and Houzz,” she adds. “Our builder then helped us locate a company in London who specialises in this type of stairway. We had to have the stair wall reinforced during the build to hold the weight of the cantilevered steps. It was much more involved than we’d originally thought. It was well worth it though and certainly adds a great feature to the hallway.”

Lighting design appears a key feature to the renovation. “Absolutely,” Claire nods, “lighting is fundamental in our design, it can make or break it. We’ve got some beautiful lights in various rooms of the house, all slightly unusual and modern in taste. We have lighting under the cantilever stairs, which creates a lovely ambiance, especially at night when it is all lit up. All our lighting runs on Lutron, which allows you to program various modes for evening, day and party etc.”

There are four double bedrooms, all en-suite, and open plan living throughout. The kitchen, though, really catches my eye. “We are a family of foodies and I love to cook, so the kitchen and appliances were very important to us,” Claire says. “We visited the Miele experience centre in Oxford and were sold. We went for a double oven and a steam oven, which I absolutely love, there’s nothing you can’t cook in it. There are two large warming drawers, great for hosting as you can keep food warm, heat plates and even slow cook in them. Both of us are coffee drinkers so it was important to include a coffee machine and the all-important wine fridge. We also created a bespoke pantry to house all the food items.”

Claire says the latter is arguably the family’s favourite space in the house, but does she have a personal pick too? “I personally really love our lounge room. It is contemporary in style with a little mix of tradition as we have a log burner in there. I love to escape there at the end of a busy day with a glass of wine and a good book or film and just relax. In summer though we are always in the family room, and I love it in there just as much.”

Now it’s time for others to enjoy the Macdonalds’ hard work. “Since listing the property and creating my own Instagram page @styled_location, I have received lots of positive interest, from local photographers to magazines,” Claire says. “The design and build of our house was a real labour of love and for the house to now be paying for itself as a secondary form of income is quite appealing. I also think it’s great for my children to meet all different kinds of creative people at the house and hopefully inspire them for the future.”

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