Some homes just effortlessly ooze class, and this late Victorian stunner tucked away in a leafy part of Cardiff is surely one of them, packed full of period features combined with tasteful, understated interiors that add an extra layer of sophistication.
On the bend of a residential road in Llanishen, this home is a real beauty amongst the spacious and uniquely designed detached period properties that line one of the more pricey places to call home in the capital. Arrive at the double gated entrance and the first look at the facade is one full of delight, as the pleasing period features from the roof down to ground level combine to paint a very pretty property picture.
The mock-Tudor style black beams are a classic period feature crowning so many Cardiff homes from this era, but this home can add beautiful, multi-paned sash windows, a double bay window section, and an absorbing pattern of facade tiles to the overall design of the front of the house too.
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The extra and yummy feature then added to this period property feast is the veranda and porch, cloaked in the obligatory trailing foliage that is a 'must-have' if you want to add nature's garnish to the architectural design meal that greets visitors.
The exterior of the house is pretty and welcoming, and ignites the intrigue and desire to have a rummage around inside the home and discover what other glorious features and design the property can use to potentially captivate your heart. And it's a great start with Minton floor tiles to be found in the veranda porch, followed by a large double doorway into the spacious central reception hall.
There are plenty of pleasant period features to find in this space too, from the blonde-toned parquet flooring to the sweeping staircase that adds a touch of grandeur to the room. Then there's a choice of welcoming spaces across the ground floor to find and enjoy, four in total that sprawl across this surprisingly substantial home.
The first and arguably the fanciest is the drawing room, a vast space that runs from the bay window at the front back to a bay window at the side too. It's a room of doubles, as the two zoned areas - one for relaxing and one for playing and enjoying music - both have a gorgeous period fireplace each, suggesting that the space was once two separate rooms.
The interior design style of soft colour shades mixed with natural materials and layers of texture in neutral and warm accent tones is introduced fully in this spacious reception room, no doubt influenced by the colour palette of the fireplace tiles as well as the present owners' sense of sophisticated style.
Antique statement pieces occupy key positions in the room, and a grand piano in the bay does not go unnoticed, but the space is not pretentious or aloof, rather it's classic and comfortable, warm and welcoming, timeless and enticing.
If you can bring yourself to leave the fireside in this most embracing of rooms, or decide it's time to finish practicing Chopsticks or Chopin at the piano, the reward is more fabulous spaces to wander into and admire. The first is an additional reception room that not only offers the route into the generous kitchen diner at the rear, but also demands you linger within this cosiest of spaces within the house.
This sitting room is blessed with a log burner and beautiful built-in period cupboards and shelves either side that are a joy to see - not just surviving past renovations but now thriving in this most pretty of places in the home.
Into the kitchen diner and it is, as you would expect in a home within this price bracket, a substantial, well-equipped space that continues the soft colours and adds the classic Shaker-style kitchen units with dark, granite worktops and a very attractive bottle green, four door Aga nestled into the chimney breast.
There's plenty of space here for the chef to be in cooking heaven, accompanied by a kitchen island and by guests that have a choice of sitting at a large dining table, on a comfy sofa, or spilling out onto the garden terrace before they spill their drinks, via the characterful French doors.
Then journey on to the additional reception space that is maybe not expected as it is hidden from view from the front of the home, but this family room will definitely be appreciated.
It's a versatile space that is a level up on the interior design scale towards modern but it still keeps its neutral, natural and earthy colour palette whilst offering timeless classic pieces of furniture such as the work desk, and mixing it with contemporary touches such as the artwork to bring in an extra layer of visual interest.
Add in a big, bay window with views of the garden, a hefty log burner sitting on a slate hearth, and wooden flooring and the room is a space all members of the family, and friends, will surely gravitate towards. However, there is another reason, a hidden reason, why this space can claim to be one of the most popular and unique in the house.
If you look closely at the floor you might spot a trapdoor, and if you open that trap door it will reveal the hidden wine cellar which is actually a descending spiral staircase that goes nowhere other than to all the wine bottles stored within its curved walls. There's enough space for 1,000 wine bottles, stored at 11 degrees. How cool is that, literally and figuratively?
Next to the kitchen diner is a utility room that is so spacious its size is bigger than some other home's main kitchens. Out here there is also a rear door to the garden, plus the ground floor also a handy cloakroom off the hall at the front of the building.
Up the impressive stairs next to the cloakroom, as there are two stairs to choose from inside this home, and this grander choice gets you to the four bedrooms on the first floor, including the beast of the master bedroom that doesn't just match the floorspace of the drawing room below, it increases it to include an ensuite at one end too.
This space has a bay window, and a duo of side windows too, with a sleeping zone at the front and a lounging area at the rear to distract and tempt you to sit and linger as you wander towards the luxury ensuite. This dedicated master bedroom four-piece bathroom is as classy and luxurious as you surely have come to expect from this dream home by now, cloaked in limestone tiles and able to boast a triple shower.
Across from the master bedroom is the family bathroom, another attractive space, as well as bedroom two that looks out onto the garden. Wander further down the landing and two more bedrooms appear, which can also be accessed via the rear staircase. Both of these slumber zones keep the deliciously sophisticated and timeless interiors going, creating calm and comfortable spaces where understated elegance is the high standard, and where relaxing and sleep surely come easily.
Up to the top floor for another surprise space - a fifth bedroom with an ensuite which is another hidden area, this time not hiding under the floor via a trap door, but hidden from view from the front of the home.
This final bedroom can offer its own hidden space within its own area too - in the loft space of the main front wing of the house is an extra area, perfect as a study area, as it is now, or if the new owner likes to overindulge in retail therapy, then a perfect walk-in wardrobe.
From the windows of the upper floors the view of the garden reveals what a private space it can offer a new owner, with a curved, sunken sun terrace next to the house and a large lawn to the trees at the end, flanked by shrub borders on either side.
It's the perfect outside space to relax, look back at the house and be forever pleased that such a beauty, that is also a beast when it comes to space, is the place you call home.
The handsome house is for sale for £1.7m with estate agent Kelvin Francis, call them on 029 2076 6538 to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, auction properties, renovation stories, and interiors - join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter , sent to your inbox twice a week.
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