Posted 11 September 2023 by
Helen ChristieAn engaged couple searching for their ‘forever’ home in the countryside found everything they wanted and more in the quaint Leicestershire village of Stoke Golding.
Sarah Marston and fiancé Mark Henton-Smith knew their dreams had come true when they found out that WhatHouse? Award-winning developer Miller Homes was to build a new development of housing in Stoke Golding.
When the couple realised they could complete their move to a four-bedroom Haytham home at the Kingshill Park development as soon as April this year, and become the first to move in when doing so, they jumped at the opportunity.
Sarah, a 48-year-old finance director, says: “Once we knew Miller Homes were launching the Kingshill Park development, we wanted to go and find out more straightaway, as Stoke Golding has always been a village which appeals to us because of the community feel here. Tara, the development sales manager, explained that one of their larger four-bedroom homes – a Haytham – would be ready for occupation in April 2023, which was a bit sooner than we expected, but we just knew that would be the house for us, so we said “Let’s do it!” and the rest is history. We bought the home off-plan, which was daunting, but we knew the show home at the development would also be a Haytham, so once the show home opened we visited again and we were blown away with the size and the space of home – it was a huge relief but equally exciting for myself and Mark.”
Mark runs his own company, Augusta Events Support, supplying outdoor infrastructure for large and small events across the country, so was keen to remain in the Midlands where he can travel to locations with relative ease, including to Boardmasters festival in Newquay, which is one of his biggest work events each year.
Meanwhile, Sarah works from home a lot, which was another deciding factor for the pair when choosing a Haytham at Kingshill Park, due to the size and versatility of the space inside the property.
Sarah continues: “Working from home means I needed a functional space to work from while at home, but with the flexibility to support it. Fortunately, the bedrooms upstairs are all a good size for what we need, and the kitchen is so big I could easily work from there, too. We have opted to use the separate dining room as an office which gives us even more flexibility with the space downstairs. The first time I walked into the kitchen I just thought ‘wow’ as it was absolutely my dream kitchen – it’s such an important part of the home so we were both thrilled with the result when we moved in.”
Mark and Sarah are due to be married later this year, with a honeymoon to South America to follow. After a hectic year of moving home and wedding planning, the couple are looking forward to making the most of village life in Stoke Golding on their return from honeymooning later this year.
Sarah adds: “We love living in Stoke Golding, because it has a close-knit community feel to the area, but it still has enough going on, so you don’t feel like you’re living that remotely to amenities you need. We were the first to move in at Kingshill Park, too, so we’ll soon see the community forming here as the development progresses. Mark, in particular, enjoys the village pubs, and we both love the Dog and Hedgehog on the outskirts of the village, for a nice meal. And with a brand new home to go back to each evening, we really feel like we’ve got the best of all worlds here.”
Inside the Haytham, Mark and Sarah benefit from four good-sized bedrooms, two of which have en suites, which is ideal for when their older children come to stay with them.
The property includes a spacious kitchen/diner and separate living area and dining room/study on the ground floor, while outside the private drive is tied off with a double garage, suitable for parking cars overnight or extra storage space.
Sarah finishes: “Everything we could have wanted was here when we moved in, including the kitchen, which we were able to design ourselves having bought off-plan, with the worktops and cupboards and any extras we wanted to add. We’re adding our own small touches to the home with new furniture, which is also exciting. We are building a home together, and we feel very fortunate to have found our ‘forever’ home at the first time of asking. We’re really happy!”
Miller Homes is building 70 homes at Kingshill Park, located off Hinckley Road in Stoke Golding, south of Market Bosworth and to the north of Hinckley, close to the A5 and the M69.
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