Grange Lane, Bromham, MK43

Life at this home is described as “like being on holiday every day”. Once inside, the outside world disappears. You could be anywhere. But 49 Grange Lane isn’t just anywhere… This is a place with attention to detail, awareness of the environment, and action towards sustainability.

Prior to this property, the owners resided in the centre of Bedford. In 2016, they decided that the time was right to fulfil a long-held ambition to build their own house, and the search for a suitable plot began.

This site offered a third of an acre, so there was plenty of land for expansive square footage, still with a substantial south-facing garden. The location was perfect too, in the thriving village of Bromham 10 minutes from Bedford centre and station (with direct trains into London in as little as 40 minutes), 20 minutes from the A1 and the M1, and 40 minutes from Luton airport. The village has an array of amenities, an active community, and is surrounded by scenic countryside.

With the site secured, the owners specified to the architect that the fundamentals should be “height and light”. These two words truly encapsulate the essence of the home. They greet you, along with that gorgeous golden oak staircase, and incredible brightness and space follow into every aspect.

There are so many intricacies at this property that you just can’t see from photos, videos or floorplans. With the owners’ background in construction and knowledge of products and materials, combined with their desire for the best quality of life and the lowest carbon footprint possible, both Passivhaus and Saint-Gobain Multi Comfort standards have been heavily incorporated.

Passivhaus focuses on energy efficiency, and there are a small, but growing, number of certified homes. The house has 28 PV solar panels embedded into the roof, and in the four years the owners have lived here, they’ve generated as much energy as they’ve used. Excess can be used to top up what’s needed (e.g., heating water, charging EVs), or sold back to the grid. A Passivhaus generally uses c.10% of what a ‘normal’ house would. The average cost here for gas and electricity has sat at an average of £750pa, and the EPC shows no recommendations for improvement.

Saint-Gobain Multi Comfort is all about thermal, acoustic, natural light and air quality levels. The property is ten times as airtight as building regulations require, and there’s triple glazing and high-density insulation. It’s always a comfortable temperature, with zoned underfloor heating, and tilt-and-turn windows if you want a breeze. Glazing at the back is coated to control heat gain, and fresh air is circulated throughout the house, and warmed when needed, via an MVHR system, which also filters out pollen and particulates. ACTIVair plaster absorbs VOCs, and the very few walls without are magnetic, for putting up pictures with ease. There are low-decibel appliances to suit the open plan, insulated walls for sound dampening, and a geogrid gravel driveway to provide a stable surface.

Fitting the home not only around today, the owners have also factored in aspects that may, or have already turned out to be important for the future. There are two separate, versatile garden rooms (both with power and water supply), hardwiring is in place for a stronger internet connection, and there’s even a chandelier hoist for when replacing bulbs down the line. For accessibility, there’s step-free access, level thresholds, space to install a lift, and potential to reconfigure a reception room, the cloakroom and the boot room into a ground-floor bedroom and en suite.

You might be wondering why the owners are selling a property such as this, with all these fantastic features and rare benefits. With the children now in homes of their own, it’s time again to find a plot, this time to create the same but on a smaller scale. Once you’ve lived somewhere like this, it’s difficult to imagine life any other way.