HUNTINGDON, England
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Cambridge Tradition
Not long after Claus Jacobsen began surfing the Net in search of a British home for his family, it became apparent he wanted something more American than quintessentially English.
Moving to Cambridgeshire from Walnut Creek, Calif., he found a substantial five-bedroom house about 20 minutes’ drive from the university city of Cambridge — and after just one visit he knew he had found the perfect home.
“I was looking for something that had been refurbished or finished to a high quality and was in a good location for schools,” said Mr. Jacobsen, who has a 4-year-old daughter as well as twin girls aged 3. “While I was looking on Web sites such as rightmove.co.uk and primelocation.com, I soon realized I could discount many of the U.K. homes on the basis of their general layout.”
Even at the upper end of the market, many British properties, particularly period and traditional homes, have small rooms, few bathrooms, kitchens without dining areas and minuscule laundry rooms.
Mr. Jacobsen, who arrived in Britain in September to take up a position with a Cambridge-based intellectual property firm, was determined to find something more American in style. “In the U.S.,” he said, “a home with four or five bedrooms will have four or five bathrooms. And all the bedrooms will be on the same floor. When I saw the details for this house in a village outside Cambridge, it seemed ideal.”
Mr. Jacobsen is waiting for a survey, but hopes to complete the purchase within the next few weeks.
The house, which was on the market at 825,000 pounds ($1.63 million) through the real estate agency Fine & Country, was just six years old. With more than 3,000 square feet on a third of an acre, it had large rooms, a good-sized kitchen/breakfast room and four bathrooms. With an inglenook fireplace and oak beams, it also had a traditional edge and plenty of character.
The owners, Julia and Neil McCulloch, had bought the house during its construction and said they had been attracted to the property for much the same reasons as Mr. Jacobsen. “I loved the combination of old and new here,” Mrs. McCulloch said. “I had also always wanted a large kitchen that would double as a family room — and I just loved the rear view of the property, with the balcony from the master bedroom overlooking the back garden and the countryside beyond.”
Because the house was not completed when the McCullochs bought it, they were able to design their own kitchen, with work surfaces of granite and a West African wood called iroko. They have an elegant white stone fireplace placed in what the family called the drawing room.
The ground level has a spacious entrance hall that leads to the drawing room, study and kitchen; there is also a sitting room, with French doors that open onto the terrace. “This was originally supposed to be the dining room,” Mrs. McCulloch said, “but we decided to turn it into a sitting room instead. One of the great things about this house is its flexibility — there’s plenty of scope for changing the use of different rooms.”
The sitting room is light and airy, with wood block flooring. The large inglenook fireplace houses a wood-burner-style gas heater. The drawing room was decorated in a more formal style, although a TV and home cinema system were installed.
At the back of the house, the kitchen/breakfast room flows easily into the large garden. There is an Indian stone terrace, with a path that leads to the 30-by-15-foot heated swimming pool installed by the McCullochs. They also added a summer house, used as a changing area and for sheltered seating.
The house’s second floor is accessed from an oak staircase in the reception hall that leads up to a galleried landing and then to the bedrooms, including one that the McCullochs have used as a gym.
The largest is the 21-by-20-foot master bedroom. Its French doors open onto the balcony, where the McCullochs placed a wrought iron table and chairs so they could enjoy views of the garden and surrounding fields.
They say they have relished their time at the property but now yearn for a change. “We love this area, however,” Mrs. McCulloch said, “and because Neil works as a hospital director in Cambridge, we don’t want to go too far. We have not found our new home yet, but certainly building a new property is an option we are considering.”
Despite the current slowdown in the British property market, Mark Thomson, manager of Fine & Country in Cambridgeshire, said prices in the area were holding up well at the upper end of the spectrum.
“We deal with property from about 500,000 pounds up to well over 1 million pounds,” he said, adding: “Prices vary depending on size, style and general condition. This sector is fairly insulated from the problems of the current climate, and we have not seen any reductions in property values.
“As well as British homeowners who are looking to sell, we deal with expats returning to the U.K. after a time abroad and those from other countries moving to Cambridgeshire for work. Industry here is strong, and a number of large companies are currently investing in the area. We have helped C.E.O.’s and project managers from Canada and Argentina, as well as America, to find property recently.”
Mr. Jacobsen made an offer on the house before his wife, Stacy, had even seen it — but now that she has, he says she is as impressed as he was. “She loved the size of the rooms and the plan of the house, as well as the interior decoration and finish,” he said. “Like me, she liked the feel of the property.
“There are one or two changes we will make in the children’s rooms, but most of the house is likely to stay very much as it is now.”