Every house has character, though some try to hide it under one of Farrow & Ball’s twenty shades of white, plush grey furnishings and bi-fold doors. Holly Lodge gives the bird to such dwellings, with its exposed beams, patterned wallpaper and those quirky, upper-middle-class walls drenched in Little Greene. It’s a big, confident five-bedroom house that looks like it’s been standing there since the dawn of agriculture, but was actually renovated in 2016 by someone with a personality somewhere between Emma Bridgewater and Jeremy Clarkson in his Diddly Squat era.
Holly Lodge stands in certainty within the romantic idealism of St. Ouen. The parish is basically Jersey’s equivalent of the Pacific Northwest: green, remote and slightly mythic. ‘Poldark’ could have been filmed there. The morning air smells like it’s been filtered through moss. Rumour has it Caspar David Friedrich painted ‘Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog’ on a cliffside at Grève de Lecq. Holly Lodge, just a stone’s throw from this beach, is a shelter from the storm – complete with quirky hanging bubble lights and a log burner that looks like it warmed a farming family in the 1800s, despite probably still being under warranty from Home Fires. Minimalist middle-aged mums with a penchant for calling their son’s Union Jack–themed bedroom “eclectic” may have an aneurysm stepping into this wallpapered, countryside haven of originality.
As a guest entering Holly Lodge, you’d assume the owner worked hard enough to have their life in order, but not so hard that they forgot what weekends are for – promising a varied, intellectual dinner party conversation that doesn’t just revolve around interest rates. At the heart of the home is an open-plan kitchen and dining area – the kind where you can cook risotto and still feel part of the conversation. The living room is spacious enough to make your voice echo, which could either feel glamorous or quiet, depending on your mental state. There’s also a study – a gentle reminder that whilst work has now seeped out of the office and into every room of our lives, there is still room for a productive sanctuary.
There are five bedrooms, which seems both luxurious and fantastically over-gunned. It’s the perfect set-up for those with four children: three planned, and then the final little straggler who, seven years younger, destroyed your dream of retiring early and becoming an empty nester. Four of these bedrooms have ensuites, meaning you don’t have to fear the intimacy of spitting out toothpaste together in a shared sink. Each room is calm, pristine and noncommittal – the perfect space for teenagers to flit through their ever-changing phases and personalities over the years.
The master suite feels like a small apartment of its own. The ensuite promises the tranquillity of a spa: chrome, light and marble, with the soft whisper of good water pressure. It has a dressing room so big you could lose an argument in it, but the structure of a home from a time when things didn’t just get tossed; they were rebuilt. Maybe that’s the appeal of renovated homes: that any problem – literal or emotional – can be solved with the right amount of money and reliable contacts.
From the garden, you can see fields and trees and probably a tractor if you wait around long enough. There are two patios, one south-facing and one west-facing, which means you can chase the sun all day like someone trying to outrun their 9–5. The garden is neat, lawned and simple: the perfect choice for someone who prefers the idea of gardening to the act of it. It’s the kind of outdoor space that invites you to sip, grill, compliment the shrubbery, and then go back inside before the midges arrive. A type of countryside that feels close enough to touch, but not close enough to inconvenience you. In other words, it’s rural living for Molton Brown enthusiasts who still need the sweet relief of good Wi-Fi.
A double garage stands at the edge of the property, with space for two precious cars that may or may not see the road. The driveway fits four more, because estate agents measure potential in numbers. With 3,853 square feet, five bedrooms, five bathrooms, two patios and one very aspirational postcode, Holly Lodge promises a home worthy of the stamp duty.
Holly Lodge, St Ouen
£2,250,000 Freehold.
5 Bedrooms, 5 Bathrooms, 3853 Square Feet.
Questions? Viewing? Call Jon at Gaudin&Co on 01534 730341.
