Take a mountain of granite, a small forest of beautifully sculpted wood, one portion each of those staple classics; a fine fireplace and an Aga. Mix, and then sprinkle over a small handful of contemporary features and you have yourself a recipe for contemporary living with a classic touch.
Built in the sixteenth century, The Gables on Rue Fliquet started life as a coachhouse and has since been lovingly crafted into a family home that blends contemporary and original features along with a few hand-crafted elements that complement the original features perfectly. It’s a showcase of attention to detail on an impressive scale, with the refurbishment having been carried out by the current owners working with the guidance of Jersey Heritage to ensure faithful recreation of historic features where appropriate.
It’s a house that appears relatively unassuming from the roadside, with a typically local granite wall and mature garden sporting palms and hedging for privacy, with a paved driveway leading to a set of wrought iron gates – a classic touch. Directly behind the gates is a novel feature; a car port that doubles up as a decked area extending alongside the upper floor of the house, accessed via a set of stairs from the yard. It’s a functional touch that provides picturesque views over the surrounding agricultural land.
With such a rural outlook, you may be surprised to read that The Gables actually has its foundations firmly set conveniently within the parish boundaries of St Helier. You’ll be able to enjoy the tranquility of cattle grazing away and vast expanses of green grass yet still walk to work if you’re based in town. The ability to walk to work is especially true if you now work from home, although that isn’t a particularly unique feature of the property, of course.
On the subject of working from home, scaling the stairs of the double garage will bring you to a room that’d make the perfect office or study, free from the distractions of home life. However, if you’re not into Zoom calls you could easily convert it into a gym, or a safe haven for all of your most coveted treasures.
Below your potential next home office / study / gym /playroom / safe-haven for those things your partner isn’t aware you’ve bought, is a generously-sized garage that’d be perfect for a cherished car and any additional toys you may want to stash away; such as pushbikes or motorbikes. For the serial tinkerer, there’s also a separate workshop to hide yourself in, and outside there’s space to park four or five vehicles.
The gardens are an elegant combination of grassed and stone-sprinkled areas, as well as mature planted beds, paved and terraced areas – a visually variable outdoor sanctuary with myriad sides to enjoy, whether you’re an adult looking to sit in peace or a child looking to run around on an energy-packed rampage alike. There’s also a lovingly restored well, complete with feature lighting.
Inside, beautiful beams abound, yet the interior spaces feel bright and airy rather than claustrophobic and overbearing, as huge, dark slices of wood positioned overhead often can be. Rather than opting for a modern, or even the country farmhouse kind of kitchen units you might expect, the current owners have chosen door panels made of planed planks that look as if each has been cut straight from a single tree. Stark, but both incredibly beautiful and effective. The kitchen itself is open plan for a nod toward contemporary life, yet retains the all-important Aga (with the matching electric oven and hob unit, so you won’t be swelteringly hot during the summer months yet won’t have to forfeit hot meals).
Gather around the island for pre-dinner drinks or enjoy your breakfast atop a generously sized plank hewn straight from a tree – bark left intact and varnished for a hard-wearing finish that doesn’t look out of place against the backdrop of natural wood cabinetry. Off the kitchen is a generously-sized dining room which leads on to a lounge that features that period-correct fireplace briefly mentioned earlier. To the other side of the dining room is a study that could easily be adapted into a fourth bedroom complete with ensuite if required, and at the rear of the kitchen is a large utility room. It’s an adaptable living space that contrasts cosy against the more contemporary rooms on the remaining floors.
Upstairs, the three bedrooms set over two floors, with the gigantic master bedroom, his-and-hers dressing rooms and adjoining ensuite bathroom dominating the first floor. The bathroom is a marvel, with its raised wooden platform with subtle lighting at floor level making a feature of the free-standing bath, statement tiles covering the walls and what was once a granite fireplace cleverly repurposed into a vanity unit made of a thick beam of wood (what else would you use in a house like this, after all?). Ascend one more floor and you’ll find the remaining pair of bedrooms and a shower room. Generous dormer windows allow an abundance of light to stream into these rooms, which – as is the case throughout this house – are also generously-sized.
It’s a home that wants for nothing but a new family to move in and enjoy it, so if your family might be the right fit for a three or four bedroom house with a rural outlook on the outskirts of town, plenty of outside space and a detached garage and workshop, this one’s well worth a look around.
The Gables Rue Fliquet, St Helier
£1,695,000. RED PROPERTIES
redproperties.je
01534 710710
