Location

The property is located in Sedgeford, a rural conservation village just a few miles inland from the stunning sandy beaches of the North Norfolk coast. Sedgeford has a public house, a particularly fine Saxon church and wonderful countryside walks on the doorstep. The Peddars Way to the east of the village links through to the coastal hotspot of Thornham; and Burnham Market, with its array of boutique shops and popular restaurants including Socius and Number 29, is approximately 9 miles away.

The house is conveniently situated for easy access to the Norfolk coastline, renowned for its superb sailing at Brancaster Staithe, Birdwatching at RSPB Titchwell, kite-surfing and famous golf links at Hunstanton and Brancaster. Giving onto a quiet lane in the oldest part of the village, it is nevertheless in very easy distance of a plethora of gastro pubs, shops and amenities, including Norfolk Lavender Farmshop – just a mile away – selling local produce, fine cheeses and meat straight from nearby farms.

The historic market town of Kings Lynn is about 15 miles, with mainline rail service to London Kings Cross via Cambridge.

Description

In 2012, the current custodian of The Haybarn set about to create a stylish, spacious and design-led village house, incorporating future proof living across two distinct levels of accommodation. Designed by renowned architect Thomas Faire, and constructed by master builders, with great attention to details throughout, the Haybarn became an exceptional home with the emphasis on convenience, comfort, light and character, yet with a contemporary edge and the ability to suit different living styles and demographics. This is a bespoke home, working with the topography of the surroundings and a south/west sunny aspect, nestled into a hill (relative to Norfolk), in a peaceful setting with fine views over the village to rolling countryside beyond.

The space internally is cleverly arranged over two floors, best described as an upper and lower ground level, essentially designed for comfort and ease of living. The upper floor has a welcoming entrance feeding off to the light and airy living room, with vaulted ceilings, eye catching fireplace and sliding glazed doors out to a brilliant roof terrace with glass balustrades, effectively providing another room in fine weather. A significant section of the upper floor was set aside for the superb principal bedroom suite; a triple aspect room with vaulted ceilings leading through to a luxurious bath/shower room, with adjacent dressing room and fitted cabinetry, it is fantastic space. A principal guest bedroom is beyond this, with a bathroom fitted with large shower and bath.

The two floors are accessible via two staircases at either end of the house, whilst a discreet lift was an integral part of the design for the house to allow for ease of living for all generations and conditions, and future proofing the house.

The lower ground floor highlight is an exceptional open plan room spanning about 9.5m x 8.3m; a brilliant space for life to converge with kitchen, dining and living areas all blending to create a vibrant and sociable area. The bespoke kitchen is hand built with beautiful cabinetry including a curved shelving unit adding character, a large island unit, and electric ‘Total’ Aga, all topped with distinctive Welsh slate worktops. The dining area sits centrally, whilst the living space enjoys the south aspect, with bespoke shelving and cabinetry creating a perfect place to relax. Filled with light from floor to ceiling glazing, it has sliding doors opening out to a sheltered terrace. Elsewhere on the ground floor is the essential utility room, a WC, a study that could be a bedroom if required, a further reception room and a bedroom with en suite shower room. The layout is such that the guest wing of the house can also be utilised as a self-contained Airbnb, with minimal impact to the rest of the house, either one or two double bedrooms.

Gardens and Grounds
The grounds, much like the house, were carefully considered at the design stage to maximise the space, with ease of maintenance and practicality at the heart of it all. The initial gravelled driveway has plenty of parking space, passing the house and leading up to the useful double garage.

The gardens are a complete delight, found mostly to the south and west of the house, and a real sun trap making for favourable growing conditions for the keener gardeners, or for those that simply wish to relax and entertain. The topography of the gardens also allows for a high degree of peace and privacy within a village setting.

There are plenty of highlights. Seamless levels between the open plan kitchen/living/dining room give directly onto the limestone terrace with its striking sandstone water feature by Foras, surrounded with beds of lavender and herbs, ladies mantle and a magnolia grandiflora. Winding paths and shallow steps through herbaceous beds full of alliums and tulips, all conveniently raised for ease, lead up to an expanse of lawn surrounded by specimen trees, shrubs and flower beds providing an open vantage point taking in views over roof tops to the other side of the valley. A summer house/studio sits at the very top of the garden, a great space to work from home, or perhaps some Pilates.

Part of the lower terrace/courtyard is partitioned off by easily removable wooden trellis sections covered with mature climbing plants to form a separate entrance for guests. This area includes a charming south facing patio with a pedestrian access out to the country lane running past the house.