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Catherine and Alistair Colston replaced a costly-to-renovate property with a new home designed around their plans for phased retirement and possible future mobility needs. Its ground-floor main suite, energy features and tailored interiors reflect the owners’ priorities, though no costs or measured performance figures were reported.
Property investor Catherine Colston and her husband, chartered surveyor Alistair, have built a new home designed for their phased retirement, replacing plans to renovate an existing property with a layout intended to accommodate possible future mobility needs. The home, profiled by Ideal Home, combines a ground-floor main bedroom suite with energy features including solar panels, an air source heat pump and triple glazing.
The couple had lived in a Grade II-listed home for 26 years before deciding to downsize. They found a house on a site with views across a valley. Their initial plan was to retrofit it, but Colston told Ideal Home that the work would be expensive and require compromises on room sizes. They sought permission to demolish and rebuild, extending the new home to the side on land that included a small garage.
Working with BPB Architects and interior designer Grace King of Studio Rey, the couple planned the layout around long-term use. The main bedroom suite is on the ground floor, and a large walk-in shower and double vanity feature in the en-suite. Colston said the aim was to make the house “Zimmer-proof,” referring to the possibility of needing a walking frame. Sliding doors from both the living room and main bedroom open onto a full-length floating balcony.
The home also includes underfloor heating throughout, alongside the solar panels, heat pump and triple glazing. Colston said these were chosen to improve thermal efficiency and keep running costs low, but the report did not provide energy bills or performance data. Outside, the couple replaced a garden that needed extensive tending with terraces, raised beds and a pergola. An outdoor bath is already in place; an outdoor kitchen is planned. They also bought part of a field behind the house for future fruit trees and wildflowers, and added a pond intended to support rainwater irrigation.
Planning for Mobility and Comfort
The project shows how retirement planning can shape a home’s layout and finishes before construction, rather than relying on later alterations. A ground-floor bedroom and accessible shower may reduce dependence on stairs, while raised beds and a lower-maintenance garden respond to the owners’ preference for easier upkeep. Those choices reflect the Colstons’ stated goals; the article does not establish that every feature will suit all older residents or guarantee the home can meet every future care need.
The design also combines practical decisions with personal style. The kitchen brings together terrazzo, ribbed cabinetry and walnut, while the living room’s large picture window and balcony keep the valley views prominent. That blend matters because the owners did not treat future accessibility as a reason to accept a purely clinical interior. The article presents this as a bespoke home shaped around one household, not as a standard retirement-home model.
Energy features may also affect comfort and household expenses, but no figures were provided for installation costs, energy use or savings. For readers considering a similar build, the profile offers examples of features to discuss with architects and designers, rather than a costed blueprint or evidence of a particular financial return.
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From Listed Home to New Build
The Colstons’ decision followed 26 years in a Grade II-listed house and a move toward phased retirement. Their experience seeing mobility issues affect their elderly parents informed their interest in a home that could serve them for longer. The source does not say that either Colston currently has mobility limitations; the design was made in anticipation of possible future needs.
At first, the couple considered renovating a house they knew across the road from their existing home. According to Colston, the scale and cost of retrofitting would have forced compromises on room sizes. They instead pursued permission to demolish and rebuild, with an extension onto the side of the site. The resulting design involved professional support from BPB Architects and interior designer Grace King, whose work also informed the home’s colour schemes, storage and room-by-room details.
“We’re both moving into a phased retirement, and we wanted a home that was going to see us through our latter years.”
— Catherine Colston, speaking to Ideal Home
Costs and Performance Not Reported
Ideal Home’s profile does not state the build cost, renovation estimate or project timeline, so the financial trade-off between rebuilding and retrofitting cannot be assessed from the available information. It also gives no measured energy use, utility bills or verified savings for the solar panels, heat pump, triple glazing and underfloor heating; claims about lower running costs remain the owners’ expectations.
The report does not describe the home’s accessibility against a formal standard, or explain details such as doorway widths, step-free routes throughout the property or provisions for future adaptations beyond the features mentioned. The outdoor kitchen is still planned, and the fruit trees and wildflowers are future plans. No completion dates for those elements are given.
Planned Garden Work Ahead
The next changes described in the report are outdoors: the couple plan to add an outdoor kitchen and plant fruit trees and wildflowers in the field behind the house. They have also identified the pond’s role in supporting rainwater irrigation. The source gives no schedule for these works or further construction milestones. No additional project or follow-up announcement is reported.
Key Questions
Who built the retirement-focused home?
Catherine and Alistair Colston commissioned the new home after 26 years in a Grade II-listed property. They worked with BPB Architects and interior designer Grace King of Studio Rey.
What features were designed with future mobility in mind?
The main bedroom suite is on the ground floor, and the en-suite has a large walk-in shower. Colston said the layout was intended to avoid needing a stair lift, but the report does not give formal accessibility specifications.
What energy systems does the house use?
The home has solar panels on the south-facing roof, an air source heat pump, triple glazing and underfloor heating. The report includes no measured energy use or cost savings.
Why did the couple choose to build rather than renovate?
Colston told Ideal Home that retrofitting the existing house would be very expensive and require compromises on room sizes. The couple sought permission to demolish and rebuild, extending the new home to the side.
What parts of the garden are still planned?
An outdoor kitchen is still to come. The couple also plan to plant fruit trees and wildflowers in a field they bought behind the home; no timetable was reported.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
