COMFORTABLE HOME WITH RETRO APPEAL

By Judy Marriott - Friday, April 11, 2008

Solid and spacious number 56 Mill Hill Road, Cowes. Picture by Peter Boam.

PROPERTY OF THE WEEK
COWES may have seen many changes since the middle of the last century but in one corner is a delightful home that has stayed largely rooted in the 1950s.
Solid, spacious and comfortable, number 56 Mill Hill Road, standing on a large corner plot, even still has its original Elizabeth Ann kitchen.
This airy detached home with some sea views and beautiful stained-glass panels has suited its owners well over the past 28 years. So well, in fact, that they have changed little since they moved in.
“Everything is functional, there is lots of storage and we like it as it is and have not seen any reason to change it,” one of them said.
Now, reluctantly selling the house to downsize, the couple also find number 56 superbly convenient for walking to work, the shops, Red Jet ferry link and when they have a night out in the town.
Generous-size rooms, many of them with windows to more than one side, plus features including picture rails, original tiled fireplaces and original doors combine to create the ambiance of a gentler age.
Attractive stained-glass top lights, with a green ribbon motif, can be found throughout, while galleon-style ships feature in a circular stained-glass window in the entrance hall and in the front door.
Architect-designed and built as a one-off in 1953, reputedly for the proprietors of a Cowes drapery business, number 56 is obviously a property people love to live in because it has only ever had two owners.
If the next owners feel it is time to move on from the 50s, they will find lots of scope because the good-size, well-laid-out rooms offer lots of possibilities.
The addition of a conservatory on the site of a rear patio is one option and was at one stage considered by the owners.
One important bonus already in place is a deep double garage with workbench and parking to the front, accessed from Victoria Road — a rare benefit in this part of town.
Imposing and substantial looking, number 56 has a double-storey curved bay to both its Mill Hill Road and Victoria Road aspects.
Well-planted mature gardens extend around the front, side and rear of the home with a covered passageway to the other side.
A pathway, bordered by a colourful display of plants, leads through the lawned front gardens and past a pretty magnolia in full blossom to the front door.
Opening into the welcoming hallway, with neutral-coloured carpet and decor, the door has an attractive stained-glass panel with boat motif.
Original panelled doors open to rooms including the front sitting room, a comfortable room with lovely oak parquet flooring, picture rail, a curved front bay window, a narrow side window and a flame gas fire with tiled surround.
Alternative place to relax is the rear lounge, with plenty of natural light coming in through a side bay window, providing views to East Cowes and a door with side panels opening to the rear patio. Focal point is a coal-effect gas fire with tiled surround.
Beneath carpeting in this room is wooden parquet flooring.
Retro base units in the kitchen display a badge inscribed with ‘Elizabeth Ann 1959’ and have formica tops, as well as incorporating a stainless steel sink unit beneath a rear window. With tiling to half-height, the 14ft by 11ft kitchen has space and plumbing for a washing machine, ample space for a central table and two large storage areas.
One of these is a walk-in shelved pantry, while the other includes a cupboard extending back beneath the stairs. Each has lots of space and can house a fridge or freezer.
A lobby off the kitchen leads to a cloakroom housing a WC with high-rise cistern. Off the lobby is a covered side area, with access to the front and back gardens.
Through a side window on the bright upstairs landing are sea views. A capacious airing cupboard here has double doors.
The Solent and mainland can be seen through a semi-circular front bay window and a side window in the 16ft by 14ft main bedroom. Extensive storage is provided by a good range of cream-coloured built-in wardrobes and overhead cupboards.
Also a generous size is bedroom two, with a tiled open fireplace, a curved bay window and narrow front window looking over part of Cowes.
The other bedroom is a sunny, smaller double looking out over the back garden to East Cowes.
Completing the upstairs accommodation is a bathroom, which the owners have updated by installing a white suite and half-height white tiling, with feature geometric design tiles.
Along with lawns and a rear patio, the garden has flowerbeds, a pretty camelia, flowers, mature shrubs and a path leading to a rear door to the garage.

HOME FILE
Location...Cowes
Bedrooms...Three doubles
Price...£425,000
Agent...Hadland
Tel...299977

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COMFORTABLE HOME WITH RETRO APPEAL

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