Homes built in the Arts and Crafts style have long stood the test of time.
People love the solid construction and craftsmanship. They love the attention to detail, the simplicity of the design and the functionality. They also love the occasional quirks of design.
Birmingham has some grand examples of this style of property and we’ve rounded up three of the loveliest homes on the market in our region that illustrate just how remarkable Arts and Crafts houses can be.
Barnsley Road, Edgbaston
This six-bedroom house, built in 1901, is located within the Barnsley Road conservation area and is set over three floors.
The hallway has terracotta tiled flooring, high ceilings and high skirting boards and doors to the two reception rooms, kitchen, cloakroom, and understairs cupboard.
The front-facing dining room has a feature fireplace with wooden surround, tiled hearth and base and space for a wood burner, exposed wooden floor boards, high ceilings, high skirting boards, and picture rails.
The sitting room at the rear allows you to enjoy the garden, thanks to the full-width sash windows. The room has a feature fireplace with a slate base, cast iron surround, brick hearth and a wood burner with high ceilings, high skirting boards and picture rails.
Four of the bedrooms, the family bathroom and separate WC are on the first floor, while the fifth and sixth bedrooms could easily be used as self-contained accommodation as there is also a kitchenette with built-in cupboards, stainless steel sink unit and space for a fridge, plus bathroom with bath, shower, handbasin and WC.
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The rear garden has a lawn, crazy paving patio, mature trees, bushes, shrubbery, flower beds, a vegetable plot, brick-built pond, brick-built workshop/shed, greenhouse, wooden shed and a double car port and garage with separate access from the road.
There is also access to a private communal garden for residents.
Agent – Hunters
Telephone – 0121 647 4233
Guide price - £475,000
Ashbrook House , Four Oaks Estate, Sutton Coldfield
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Commissioned in 1909 by Charles Brampton, of the Brampton bicycle manufacturing family, this six-bedroom, six-bathroom home is described as “an understated triumph of ageless style”. At 6,987 sq ft, it is a huge home that has been preserved and renovated at considerable cost.
The few Crittall windows that are not original have been replaced using materials and techniques of the period, while repairs to architraves and coving have been undertaken to the exact specifications of the Arts and Crafts movement.
The bespoke carpentry also meets the exacting requirements and when the some of the original stone features had to be replaced, there was a long search for the exact bricks and stone to match them.
The current owners have added an orangery and a new wing that houses a guest suite with en-suite, and a spa with mezzanine gymnasium, steam room, shower and hydropool/aquatrainer pool. Such was the dedication to ensuring that the integrity of the Arts and Crafts vision was maintained, the owners had the glass specifically distorted by hand to match exactly the original glass in the rest of the building.
The kitchen, however, epitomises 21st luxury, with hand-built walnut fixtures, Forest Black granite that was imported from Brazil, Turkish marble flooring, Miele appliances, Sub Zero refrigeration unit, Insinkerator waste disposal unit, Quooker boiling water tap, Liebherr wine fridge, and a butler's pantry.
Agent – Aston Knowles
Telephone – 0121 362 7878
Guide price – £2,750,000
17 Yateley Road, Edgbaston
This Grade II-listed property is believed to date back to 1906 and is one of four houses built by local architects HJ Buckland and E Haywood Farmer.
There are six bedrooms over two floors, three refitted bathrooms, two main reception rooms that overlook the rear gardens, plus a kitchen/family room.
The owners have undertaken a great deal of refurbishments and renovations – sympathetic to the character of the house, of course. It retains many original features, including the parquet flooring.
The outbuildings have been integrated to the rest of the house and have been converted into a self-contained apartment with bedroom, shower room, kitchenette and utility area.
The gardens are delightful and include a newly laid terrace, large lawn area, a greenhouse and two outhouses.
Agent – Robert Powell
Telephone – 0121 454 6930
Guide price – £1,195,000