Looks can be deceptive. Bartons, at 17, Fairway, one of Guildford’s best private residential road, may have started life as a 1930s house (and still look like it from the outside) but step inside and you’ll discover a contemporary, light-filled family home with an extraordinary sense of space.
James Ackerley of Knight Frank’s Guildford office is quoting a guide price of £2.75m for the the 4,580sq ft family home, whose dramatic transformation was based on designs by the Surrey-based architect Elspeth Beard. As a result, the sleek interiors flow seamlessly from room to room, lending themselves well to entertaining — yet retain many original charming features.
The house is largely open-plan at ground-floor level, with the drawing room and the kitchen, breakfast and family room both having vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and multiple doors leading onto the rear garden, making it perfect for entertaining. Also on the ground floor are a separate dining room, a study and a useful media room.
Upstairs are four bedrooms, two of which have en-suite bathrooms, plus a family bathroom. Additional accommodation is available in a guest annexe above the integral double garage. Also vaulted, the annexe provides a fifth bedroom with a bathroom en-suite, plus a TV in the bath area for added relaxation.
The rear garden has a large, wraparound sun terrace leading to flat lawns on two levels, a pretty wildflower meadow and a separate, private sunken sun terrace. The grounds total about half an acre bordered by immaculately trimmed hedging.
A footpath at the rear leads directly to the lovely Merrow Downs and the surrounding Surrey Hills AONB providing scope for long family walks. Linked to the Merrow Downs is also access to Guildford Golf Course — all this within easy reach of Guildford town centre and the station, with its frequent, fast services to London Waterloo.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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