The Guernsey Home with a Touch of Class

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La Belle Vue, CCD Architects CCD Architects Classic style dining room
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If the summer won't come to the UK, maybe we can trick ourselves into believing that we live in a basking climate with some fabulous Mediterranean-inspired architecture. That looks to be the thinking behind this amazing project!

La Belle Vue is a rustic meets Mediterranean estate that pushes the boundaries of what we expect to see in this country, but given how fabulous it is, perhaps we should be seeing more of it. Prepare to be surprised by this incredible property!

Straight out of Spain

If you had shown us this picture and told us it is a beautiful estate in Spain, where the finest stallions are bred, we would have believed you in a heartbeat. Tell us it's in the UK and we need some convincing, but it really is! Now we know that, we think there are a few tell-tale signs, hidden behind new extensions and creamy render, but it's still a difficult thing to accept!

CCD Architects have taken a very specific brief and allowed the spirit of foreign shores to come to the UK and they've left no detail out. Even the courtyard, complete with fountain looks like something from the continent!

A hint of heritage

In a bid to help this house integrate into its surroundings, a few details and 'English' touches have been included, such as a turret-inspired corner and seemingly gothic timber framed windows. The hanging baskets are quintessentially English too!

Taking the time to inject a few more recognisable characteristics helps this house to really become grounded in the countryside and though you'll never be able to ignore it, it does somehow look as though it belongs. It must be all that beautiful stonework!

The view out

What a spectacular snippet of the view this house enjoys! Now try to tell us that this couldn't be a postcard that you'd send home to the grey UK while you were gallivanting around Europe! You can't, can you?

As gardens go, this one is something very special. We've already seen that the main body is an impressive courtyard with a functional fountain in the centre, but it's lovely to see more touches of the Mediterranean in the form of large terracotta plant pots dotted around the edges and planted trees at the entrance. Offsetting the lovely pale stonework of the walls and the rich red of the roof tiles, some classic greenery really brightens the colour palette in use.

A terrific terrace

Making great use of that spectacular view, this covered terrace allows for al fresco dining all year round, which the UK usually manages to ruin with the terrible weather. Here though, come rain or shine, outdoor eating and easy socialising are the main orders of the day and thanks to some lovely plants, nature never feels too far away.

The astonishingly simple and blended colour palette of this build keeps impressing us, with neutral wood and cream playfully intertwining everywhere and reminding us that this is not a red brick UK house!

Formal dining

Ah, now here is where things get a little more English! A beautiful formal dining room, complete with heritage rug, good china and chandeliers is exactly what we would expect to see in a home as impressive as this one and with such stature, but it's the panoramic windows that are really grabbing our attention.

Not willing to part with the gorgeous view for more than a second, we love how the client has dictated that large windows must be included wherever possible. Still showcasing that lovely wood and cream colour palette, we think this would be our favourite room in the house, even if we just ate our cereal inhere!

Inspiration everywhere

It would have been so easy to have the external styling of the house looking like something from the Mediterranean, only to let that fall by the wayside when it came to the interior, but that hasn't happened at all! 

You'll see no traditional wall-to-wall carpets here, only stone floors, cultural art and fabulous wood. You know what? We've changed our mind, we don't believe this is in the UK! This must be a villa in Spain, surely? If it is, we are on the next flight!

For more Mediterranean inspiration, take a look at this Ideabook: Rustic Spanish Style. See for yourself how close this amazing home comes!

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