Character Building

In the beautiful countryside of County Down sits the recently renovated home of Mike and Kate who moved to Northern Ireland to be closer to family.

Mike and Kate enjoyed renovating and redeveloping their previous homes in England and were keen to take on a bit of a project again. But firstly, they had to find a suitable property. ‘Our criteria were to find something to fit our lifestyle in retirement, probably a bungalow, with a nearby bus route, a pub and shops, and with a view of Strangford Lough. We got two of those – a bungalow and a pub!’ says Mike. Although from the north aspect of the house is a stunning view of the lough.

Before finding a house the two main things on Kate’s wish list were to have a large laundry and a small garden. ‘Instead I got a huge garden and had to create a laundry!’ laughs Kate. ‘When we went to view the house and I saw the size of the garden, my heart sank, and my back groaned!’ On seeing the house itself, Kate knew Mike would love the 60s influence and as Kate was trained as a horticulture and landscape architect she knew what was involved in the upkeep of the garden.

Read more in the August issue…