Factfile:
- Name: Matt & Beth
- Instagram account: @our.design.our.journey
- Housetype: The Kineton, three-bedroom townhouse
- Development: Whitehouse, Milton Keynes
- #CALApet: We look after lots of dogs, but don’t have a permanent pet lodger (for now)
Q1. Hi both, we’re so excited to talk to you about your first home, so let’s get started. Firstly, can you tell us what made you choose a new build Cala home?
We searched for our first home together for around three months and visited a number of three- and four-bedroom properties. We stumbled across Cala’s Whitehouse development and really fell in love with the large kitchen/dining space. It is the perfect place to entertain guests and the room also fits a sofa and a TV, making it a fully functional room. This means we have lots of space across our three bedrooms, and we also have a separate living room upstairs.
Q2. It seems like it was meant to be! Can you tell us what you love most about your Cala home?
We love the high ceilings on all floors and there is always plenty of light throughout. It is such a welcoming home and really caught our eyes immediately. It came with a longer than average (8m) garage which some of the other homes we looked at didn’t have. This turned out to be a blessing as the Covid-19 pandemic happened not long after we moved in so we could adapt the room to our needs at the time. We also love the size of our garden, it’s exactly the right size for our needs.
Q3. How did you decide on the colour scheme and tile options for your kitchen?
We inherited the cupboard and worktop choices as we bought off-plan, so we decided to run with it and keep with the country feel of the room. We liked how much light comes into the kitchen, and we really didn’t want to lose too much of that, so we opted for a green/white split to keep the benefit of the light and to give it a modern feel - the green helps bring the outdoors in too which we love. By utilising wooden tones, adding plants and including splashes of black, we tied our colour scheme together with black worktops. Our main priority was to make sure we didn’t lose the amazing view of our garden which you get from the front door – it’s the perfect first look of our home.
Q4. Where do you find your inspiration?
I think there’s so much to see across social media home accounts, adverts, design idea boards on the likes of Instagram and Pinterest so we are spoiled for choice. We also watch ‘Interior Design Masters’ on TV and recommend the ‘Luxury Home Show’ on YouTube for inspiration too. Most of the homes are huge and out of our pricing bracket but it’s great for inspiration!
Q5. Do you have any current favourite trends?
We really like open plan living, as well as sustainable choices. It’s why we chose our Kineton housetype which has a large open plan downstairs area. Our kitchen table is also made from pallet wood – a real labour of love over a few weekends – and it’s a great talking point when we have guests.
Q6. What features of your home do you love best, and do you have a favourite room?
We love the bi-fold doors we’ve got at the back of the house the most by far! In winter, they let so much more light in and keep the room warmer with the sunshine beaming through. But in summer, they really come into their own, they are amazing. Our garage needs a special mention too as we converted the back part into a gym, and it really kept us sane during lockdown! We’ve used it as a gym, a cinema room and a breakaway room – it helped us feel like we were ‘going out’, when in reality it was just across the garden!
Inside, the kitchen is our favourite room, and is the place we spend most of our time. Oh and our living room is also super cosy and relaxing!
Q7. What advice would you give to prospective buyers of a new Cala home?
Consider everything you need to ensure you’re not just happy for the first six months, but for years to come. Think about the size of garden you want too. Do you need a driveway? Do you have flexibility to make the rooms as you want them? Can they grow with your family? These are all the questions we asked ourselves when we were looking for a new home.
We would also recommend visiting a showhome of the housetype you think you might love and spend some time there, think about how you’d live there and if it has all the elements you want and need. Then find your plot and make sure it has everything you want… then just go for it!
Q8. How simple was the process of buying your Cala home?
If you’re thinking about it, we’d say definitely go for it, the sales process was so straightforward. We had plenty of visits to get inspiration before our move in date and the progress updates were great too, it was a really exciting time!
Q9. How long did the process take from reserving your plot to moving into your new home?
It was just over three months, we reserved our plot in April, almost a day after viewing as the perfect plot was available, and we were moved in by the end of June. For those of you buying your first home, you will probably agree that it is possibly the most exciting few months of your life! I can’t tell you how often we kept coming back to the development, peering through the fences and watching the progress of the build!
