British family home

The brief was to transform a dark five-bedroom Edwardian detached house into a colourful, light free-flowing family home.

Some homes pull off the trick of offering the best of both worlds. Take as an example Champions Farm, an ancient home that’s been carefully brought up to modern spec while retaining its charm. Then there’s the location: it sits in splendid isolation in the middle of its 111 acres of rolling fields, with magnificent …

Discover the surprising differences between British vs American houses so you know what to expect when moving abroad.

See David and Victoria's new English country home.

Dating from 1896, Ravensbourne in Houghton-le-Spring is a reassuringly traditional Victorian villa featuring a tiled storm porch and four handsomely proportioned reception rooms with bay windows and original fireplaces. It has a large (albeit dated) kitchen, utility room, five bedrooms and a third of an acre of grounds, with secret garden “rooms” accessed via a wrought-iron gateway. Houghton-le-Spring is a town 15 minutes’ drive from Durham. bradleyhall.co.uk

Ascot Design | Architect on Instagram: “A lovely family home in Ascot offering a double garage with secondary accommodation and stunning landscaped gardens with a stone portico.⁠…”