Location: Northwood
Bedrooms: Three doubles
Price: Guide £250,000-£265,000
Agent: Fox Property
Telephone: 01983 292929
PROPERTY From its front white picket fencing to its cosy interior and sunny back garden, a cute-as-button home in Northwood exudes character.
Fern Cottage, on a corner plot in Wyatts Lane, is a period property that started out as two homes and is now a compact, three-bedroom cottage.
Its welcoming feel and space won the hearts of the owners around five years ago and they have been very happy there.
After moving in, they made it their own by re-naming it Fern Cottage, after a reminder of their honeymoon the year before — a New Zealand tree fern planted as the focal point of the neatly lawned front garden they created.
In the summer the sunny, easily kept back gardens, with climbers including clematis and honeysuckle scrambling up trellis along the side border, really comes into its own.
The couple virtually live out there, enjoying meals on a paved terrace running with width of the cottage and continuing part way along one side.
They describe Northwood, with its two pubs, shop and post office, as “very friendly and with a real community feel” and enjoy the convenience of having Newport and Cowes within easy reach and Gurnard seafront a few minutes’ drive away.
At the side of the cottage is off-road parking for two cars, with gated access to the mainly lawned back garden, which has shrubs, planted borders and a shed with power.
Warmed by gas central heating, the tastefully decorated accommodation, with neutral carpeting in the reception rooms and bedrooms, is accessed via a front door with a leaded-light panel.
Beyond is an inviting, front-facing reception room dubbed the blue room, because of its furnishings. Making it cosy in winter is an open fireplace with cast iron and tiled inset.
An old door with glazed panels leads up into the lounge/dining room, running the full 20ft width of the home and with stairs to the first floor at one end.
At the other end is a door to the red room, again named because of its furnishings. This front-aspect room has a fireplace which could be opened up and is a favouite spot in the morning, when sunshine pours in.
Off the lounge/dining room and also a full-width room is the kitchen, which has terracotta-coloured floor tiles and a rear garden outlook. As well as a range of smart wall and floor units, topped with solid wooden worktops and a matching dresser-style unit at one end, it has a Belfast sink, a built-in gas hob with electric oven and an extractor, plumbing for a washing machine and space for a fridge and tall fridge/freezer.
A WC and a rear porch leading to the garden are positioned off.
The upstairs landing, with access to partly boarded attic space, leads to the bedrooms and a bathroom, which has a white suite, including a bath with electric shower.
Two of the bedrooms are front-facing, while the other looks over the back garden and distant countryside glimpses.