Bridge House, Brocton, Staffordshire

12th July 2010

The buyers of a stylish detached house in a sought-after village will inherit many ingenious touches that make it stand out from other similar homes.

From the kitchen to the spacious basement leisure area, Graham and Sue Jarvis have used all their design flair to make Bridge House unusual, yet attractive and practical to live in.

They had it built nine years ago, but now the couple are moving back to their roots in Cornwall, where they are completing another clever residential project. But they will take with them many happy memories of 30 years overall living in Staffordshire - and particularly Brocton where the house is situated.

Graham is a successful property developer who shares with his wife a passion for design and it is graphically illustrated at Bridge House, which occupies a prominent hillside position, right on the edge of Cannock Chase and five miles from Stafford.

Being set on a sloping site had much to do with the design of the attractive four of five bedroom home, particularly in the creation of the leisure facility which includes a cinema room, gym and four-car garage. Graham, with a background in mining engineering, carried out extensive excavation. “The neighbours thought I was digging for coal,” he joked, but in reality Graham was creating a cavernous area which can be the focal point of any family activities.

The cinema room has fitted furniture with storage cupboards and display cabinets, besides a drop-down screen which will remain with the new owners. “During hot summers the room stays nice and cool as it is underground, but it can be heated as necessary in the winter,” said Graham.

The gym provides access to the garage and a wine store, which houses another unusual feature – a central vacuum cleaning system, linked to vents throughout the house to which a 10-metre hose can be attached reaching every corner.

“I have been installing similar vacuum cleaning apparatus in houses for 20 years,” explained Graham. “They are easy to put in when designing a building from scratch, but not so simple once a property has been built.”

Graham and Sue both love cooking, so the spacious breakfast kitchen has been designed accordingly, with a huge stove and a steam oven which retains the flavour and vitamins of the food. They enjoy entertaining in this room, which overlooks the garden.

Graham has always liked to use the roof space in any property practically, rather than merely for storage, so at Bridge House he has created a large loft studio, ideal as an office or extra bedroom. The first floor also has a study-cum-fifth bedroom. Three of the main bedrooms are en suite and there is a family bathroom.

The interior also includes plenty of ground floor reception rooms, a cloakroom and utility room, while outside Graham’s high regard for the great American architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright can be seen in the distinctive styling, which includes wide soffits that provide protection from both sun and rain.

Sue is a keen artist and enjoys much of her painting in the summer house, which helps to utilise the beautiful garden as an extra “room.” It has a decked area to the front and a log burner inside.

All in all a most impressive property where Graham has fully followed his philosophy of extensive insulation to provide cost-effective heating and always considering the builder by simplifying the construction where possible.

“We will miss Staffordshire because it is a very pleasant county, but we have a craving to build, which keeps us on the move, and our daughter and her husband will be living near us in Cornwall,” said Graham.

Bridge House is available at a guide price of £750,000 through the Stafford Office, which can be contacted on 01785 236600.

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