Grand DESIGNS

Buying a plot of land was the beginning of a new adventure for Michael and lyasha Simpson and the journey resulted in a striking Georgian-style new build

- JULIET BENNING

Michael and Iyasha Simpson are a couple for whom contradicting terms have become a fact of life. "Iyasha is Mauritian and it's not in her culture to move often whereas I love it. If it were up to me, we'd move every couple of years - it comes with the territory of my profession, Michael says. While Iyasha runs her own beauty business, Michael has a string of estate agents and a property development business, meaning he's always aware of what's on the market.

'We knew when we moved out of our last property, the next one would be our forever home. I'd spent about four years trying to build a house in another village but it became a battle and when we finally got permission it was not for what we had envisaged, Michael explains.

Instead, they bought a plot of land and contracted their builders to create a Georgian-style home from existing drawings. 'Both Iyasha and I have always loved the period for its symmetry, brickwork, big sash windows, and porticos, but the idea of all the maintenance scares me. We looked at several Georgian houses but they all needed work, Michael says. "A brand new Georgian home was our dream.