WORTH the wait

It was a long time coming, but Johanna and Deniz Safer finally found the right house and turned it into the perfect setting for magical get-togethers 

- JANET MCMEEKIN

Johanna Safer loves to decorate her home for Christmas. There's a rustic wooden sledge and a Christmas tree at her front door, and inside candles provide a glowing welcome to the family for festive celebrations. At one stage, however, Johanna thought they'd never find the right house, let alone be ready to host Christmas there.

'It was such a challenging journey that Deniz and I had almost given up hope,' says Johanna. Thankfully, fate intervened and now, when I glance around our gorgeous home, I'm incredibly glad that we hung on and eventually discovered exactly what we were looking for.'

Back in 2017, having renovated their first home in Bexley, Kent, Johanna began getting itchy feet. Although she was still enjoying living in their Victorian house, an online glimpse of an unusual cottage with a moat caught her eye. A roller coaster 18 months was to follow, when the couple bought and lost the moat property, sold their house, lost that buyer then sold again.

'By that stage, we had definitely decided to move, but couldn't find a house that ticked all our boxes,' says Johanna. 'We didn't want the upheaval of another major project, but were loathe to buy a house that someone else had renovated.