Surrey Homes | SH28 | February 2017 | Wedding supplement inside

HOUSE OF THE MONTH
1.
Room for Romance
Maggie Alderson finds homes with Valentine’s in mind
Going out to dinner with your special someone can be the loveliest way to
celebrate February 14th – but it’s all about choosing the right venue (and
ordering enough Champagne). Establishments that know how to do it
right gauge exactly the right level of sweet soppiness, without slipping over into the
fine dining equivalent of a padded Valentine’s card. Botch it and you’ll find yourself
sitting in a dining room full of other couples being ‘romantic’ to a schedule, with
a forced atmosphere on a level with a school reunion or tense family Christmas.
In this scenario, it’s hard to say which stage of couplehood it’s worst to sit next
to. There are the torturously self-conscious newly matched innocents (‘What if I
get spinach between my teeth?’). The overly loved-up lusters (‘How quickly can
we get through this and back to mine…?’). Moving on through the relationship
years, there is the guilt dinner couple (‘I forgot the anniversary, perhaps this will
get me off the hook…’). Or the silent pair who never really had anything in
common and less with every passing year (‘I must book the carpet cleaner…’).
So what to do instead? The singleton solution to Saint Valentine’s
annual taunt fest is to gather in gangs, drink too much and laugh a lot.
The savvy couple might opt to stay in. Alone. (It’s a great night for small
people to enjoy a sleepover at granny’s…). Because what nicer place to
smooch up than in the home you’ve created together? And if, after a lovely
dinner and a few glasses of fizz, you get that loving feeling, there’s only a
short stagger upstairs. If it goes the other way, you’ve got your book.
Of course, anywhere can be delightful with the person you love, but
how wonderful it would be to stay home on Valentine’s night in a house
that’s romantic in its own right, the lovey-dovey atmosphere built in.
Whether it’s the cosiness of beamed rooms and a generous hearth, ancient
panelling, quirky features or a dreamy historic association, some houses
just make you sigh. Here are four such homes currently on the market.
1. Cousens
Where? Cousens is located on the
outskirts of the pretty Wealden village of
Rudgwick, on the Sussex/Surrey border, eight
miles from Horsham and just a handy half an
hour to Gatwick.
What? Like a child’s drawing of a perfect
country cottage, complete with wisteria
around the windows, Cousens is a Grade II
listed timber-framed house, one of over 90 in
the parish. Inside it has a delightful higgledy
piggledy plan with one staircase up to a
bedroom from the kitchen, another down
to the cellar and a third up to the main first
floor, with three bedrooms and a bathroom,
the master en suite with a dressing room.
There is a further bedroom over the garage,
with a sauna. The ground floor has a stonefloored
kitchen, sitting and dining rooms with
fireplaces, a vaulted hall and a double-aspect
family room with an adjoining conservatory.
The south-west facing rear garden has a large
stone terrace and a paddock.
How much? Cousens is on the market
with Savills, Guildford, listed at £1,395,000.
Look at savills.com or call 01483 796820.
wealdentimes.co.uk
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