International award for Kingswood firm (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

International award for Kingswood firm

11:34am Monday 19th December 2011

A Kingswood-based firm of bespoke builders has won an international property award for designing and constructing a unique luxury home.

Tudors Professional Services took the honour at the Google and Bloomberg TV sponsored awards with Hazeldene House in West Sussex, a magnificent Arts and Crafts-style home with a modern, eco-friendly interior.

Tudors managing director Chris Cobb said the award is testament to the company’s desire to create individually designed, eco-friendly homes built to an exacting specification.

“I have been operating in the business for over 40 years and I never cease to enjoy a project of this calibre,” said Chris.

“Years of experience enable me to appreciate and understand what an owner is looking for in a property... suggesting some exciting surprises in the mix which a client may not have thought possible.”

The equally happy owners of Hazeldene House, Guy and Marcela Leaning, are thrilled to be living in such a beautiful home.

They asked Chris to incorporate features in the design from their parents’ family home, such as the magnificent fireplace in the galleried hall.

Guy said: “We are very much enjoying the features Chris has designed.

“Friends who have seen the house have enthused about the impact the atrium hallway creates and the spacious rooms that form the accommodation.”

Hazeldene House beat stiff competition to take “The Best Individual House” category at the awards ceremony in London’s Lancaster Hotel. Built around a solid oak frame, with timber personally sourced by Chris from the sustainable Yorkshire Oak Forest, the 3,637 square foot property took two years and nearly £2 million to build.

“The build required very high quality timber engineering using the finest oak,” said Chris.

“It was an excellent opportunity for me to unleash my ideas to create a Tudor style façade, together with a beautifully warm, welcoming interior, incorporating all the finest modern day features.”

The design incorporates a vaulted entrance porch with a solid oak entrance door, which leads to a spectacular galleried reception hall and atrium.

Central to the hall is a magnificent brick fireplace housing a wood burning stove over a sandstone floor. State-of-the-art underfloor heating, CAT6 cabling, and Cbus lighting system, compete with leaded light windows, oak beams and herringbone brickwork, in a long list of custom features.

Tudors, who are based in Kingswood, have a waiting list of clients looking for their bespoke services. Chris, whose wife Louise and daughter in law Lucette work in the firm, project manages the entire build, helping clients source suitable plots for their homes if they don’t already have them. This month, as they hand over a £6 million Georgian style property complete with swimming pool to more happy customers, Chris is looking forward to his next project. For further information on Tudors visit the company’s website at www.tudors.co.uk