 |
|
By Beverley Nielsen | For the past 23 years Geoff and Sue have lived in a stone-built farmhouse in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. High up a hill in the Peak Park, they share their home with quite a menagerie. The extended family includes Molly, the Black Labrador, Charlie, the Burmese cat who lives above the Aga, a pair of sleek Bengal cats – Beau and Daisy, two peacocks, Penny and Percy, quite a few guinea fowl and some seven hens and a cockerel.
 |
|
Ever-reliable: Sue and Geoff's 4-Oven Aga is 23 years old | The couple’s four children left home some years ago and these days Geoff and Sue also have five grandchildren visiting with their parents.
They first approached Fired Earth bathroom designer Emma Hawcroft when they decided it was time to refit their guest and main en-suite bathrooms. They wanted bathrooms which would work with the authenticity of the farmhouse as well as making the most of the practicality and comfort contemporary designs are able to offer.
 |
|
"Perfection": Sue is delighted with her new Fired Earth bathroom | “We’re delighted with the results – it’s perfection,” says Sue of the master bathroom off the main bedroom. “We wanted to use under-floor heating and we’re really pleased we stuck with this decision – it makes it so welcoming and comfortable.”
The Old Tuscan floor tiles are shining in the sun and the ‘his and hers’ Galaxy basins sit underneath the main window in the bathroom giving a view over the Cheshire countryside. “The shower is large and spacious, the frameless shower screen is just wonderful – something that we are just able to enjoy day in and day out,” adds Sue.
 |
|
Wonderful location: Sue and Geoff's stone-built farmhouse sits in the Peak Park in Cheshire | “We used Fired Earth’s bathroom installation service,” Geoff says. “Roman MacAlindon and his team were very good, very efficient and just got on with it. They sheeted up everything up and kept it all in very good order, so no damage was done to the rest of the house. They were very polite and a pleasure to have around, lovely people. I could thoroughly recommend them.”
“My one small regret,” says Sue “is that I did not use Fired Earth mirrors over the basins. I used a cheaper version and already they are not working properly. The quality of the Fired Earth products is outstanding – they look exceptional and work exceptionally well.”
The guest bathroom is smart, modern and spacious and yet does not jar with the thick old walls of the house that have endured in full the challenges of many winters. Moderna floor tiles have been combined with a Winchester Basin, Greenwich loo, Eden Frameless shower screen and acrylic shower tray with Classic bath, Classic Heated Towel rail and China Clay paint. It’s understated, calming, clean and a place where you’d be happy to relax in comfort.
 |
|
Aga fan: Sue and Geoff's animals love to sit by the Aga | “It was fantastic to see it all completed for the first time,” says Fired Earth designer Emma. “Having worked so closely with Sue and Geoff to meet their needs I was delighted to see the final results. The fact that they love it, that their family love it – that really says it all for me.
It’s so good to be able to design rooms that work for people and at the same time give them such pleasure. Our products are stunning, look wonderful and are consistently reliable delivering a quality experience over many years.”
Arriving back in the kitchen the ever-reliable red Aga is quickly put to use to produce tea and coffee all round. “We’ve had it 23 years and it’s been just wonderful,” Sue says. “We’ve had the top re-enamelled but otherwise it has just worked away consistently.
“I wouldn’t be without one and as you can see neither would our animals. We have often revived flagging lambs in the warming oven in earlier years when we kept sheep. Charlie, our Burmese, sleeps above it on top of the kitchen cupboard and the other animals lie as close to it as they can get.”
|
