If you want to live in a suburb in Wales that has widely been recognised as one of the trendiest places to live in the UK, but want your home to offer you a business space or a way of providing income too, the perfect pad can be hard to find.
The suburb in question is leafy and lovely Pontcanna, Cardiff, the only Welsh entry in the Sunday Times' list of the 30 hippest and most fashionable places to live in the UK. The list describes the area as 'all tree-lined avenues and delis, and populated by crachach’, explaining that it is a nickname for the interconnected, perceived Welsh cultural elite.
That is up for debate, but what isn't likely to cause an argument is the area itself, packed full of parkland and posh period homes, boutique shops and beautiful buildings, independent eateries, coffee spots and perfect pubs, the area has been a hotspot for house hunters who want the best of the city that includes an easy walk into the centre too.
READ MORE: The full list of stunning properties shortlisted for RIBA Grand Designs' House of the Year 2022
But to pack your bags and make Pontcanna your home will add pounds to your buying budget. Properties in Pontcanna had an overall average price of £352,592 over the last year according to property portal Rightmove. This is 3% up on the previous year and 26% up on the 2018 peak of £280,412, plus over £100k more than the current national house price average published by Principality Building Society of £245,893.
The majority of sales in Pontcanna during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £375,239. Flats sold for an average of £214,194, with semi-detached properties fetching £457,750.
But if you want to set up a retail or catering business in the area too, the available units are even more limited than the variety of properties for sale. Welcome to a rare opportunity then on Romilly Crescent that comes with a retail unit as well as a super stylish, four-bed home spread over three floors.
On the business side of the sale, the shop premises covers about 47 square feet and is currently let on a 'pop-up' basis for an initial three-month period for £1,250 per calendar month. The ground floor shop benefits from its own separate entrance as well as a fully glazed frontage and comprises a main retail area, separate store room at the rear, as well as cloakroom facilities.
The agent selling this yummy combination of property uses states that the building is perfect for a budding Pontcanna owner-operator or an investment opportunity, because as well as the shop, the home behind and above it is currently run as successful service-let, residential accommodation.
But look inside and you won't want to share this home with strangers - it is so full of character and personality you will surely want to have it all to yourself as a wonderful, private home, with the option maybe to rent out rooms should you want assistance with paying the mortgage.
This eclectic and charming home has its own front door from the street, which is always a bonus at a property with commercial and residential mix of uses. At the rear of the ground floor, away from the busy street, is the first of the bedrooms, which can boast an ensuite as well as French doors out onto a private and pretty courtyard garden.
From the moment you step into the home it's obvious that the interior design is mesmerising in the choice to mix style, colours, textures and eras, that creates an eclectic scheme that is worthy of millions of followers looking for inspiration on Instagram and Pinterest.
The hall is a mix of period tiles and staircase, wall panels, dado rail and deep skirtings, cloaked in a palette of purples and tones of grey from soft to strong. The walls are given extra personality by the wallpaper that showcases script and writing in two tones that change in colour prominence from one wall to the next.
Into the ground floor bedroom and the purple and grey colours continue to a crescendo with strong tones and an absorbing mural on the walls - it's a dramatic start to the tour and a taste of the interior design statements that the bold homeowner has had the creative freedom to make.
The bedroom's ensuite goes into an even bolder, contemporary dark shade of grey, punctured by purple wallpaper with a classic Fleur-de-Lys design.
You are surely breathless by the totally engaging ground floor interiors, as well as from climbing the stairs to the first floor, as you arrive at the open-plan kitchen diner and lounge at the front of the property.
This welcoming space incorporates the bay window and the terrace, that is a bonus outdoor space found on top of the shop. The terrace is enveloped in fencing high enough to ensure privacy but low enough to allow Pontcanna period property and rooftop views to join you and your morning coffee or evening drink.
This reception space, and the remaining three bedrooms, have gone up a few levels of lighter in their interior design than the cocooning slumber space on the ground floor, but that doesn't mean the remaining spaces are any less impactful.
The lounge and kitchen diner spaces, connected via a large open doorway in a broken-plan layout, has dark stained floorboards and an exposed brick chimney breast to add natural materials and texture, with statement vintage pieces and a period-style fireplace that all add historic character mixed with pops of colour to give the space a modern twist.
Softness comes to the area via a mix of fabrics that includes velvet, cord, cotton and layers of texture. The bay window is slightly raised and perfect as a reading nook, or maybe a new owner could pay for some bespoke carpentry to make a palatial window seat here, and also add extra storage and shelving on either side of the chimney breast.
The kitchen is a room of two halves, one wall and corner offering dark grey, Shaker-style units as a contrast to the electric blue painted vintage cupboard in the opposite corner, with the blue picked up again via the cooker hood unit, and then spilling into the lounge via the soft furnishings.
The kitchen can also offer the way to the rear courtyard from this level of the home - via a door in the corner that leads to steps down to the garden below and behind.
The rear of the first floor is where bedroom two can be found and the continuation of the exposed and stripped floorboards are the perfect, period addition to the space to bring visual warmth and charm to the calm grey and green interiors.
This space is also lavished with tactical accessories and a wall of script writing wallpaper that links the room to the decor in the hall, landing and reception room.
The first floor also offers a very distinctive family bathroom that mixes black with heritage green, shine with matt, and modern with period classics delivered via the statement mirror. The discovery of an extra cloakroom on this floor is a bonus, especially if you are relaxing in the bath at the time when there's a knock on the door to use the facilities inside the bathroom - at this home, they can visit the facilities next door.
Up to the top floor and two more bedrooms means two more chances for the owner to express their eclectic design ideas. This gives any visitor taking a tour two more chances to discover how the choice of gorgeous vintage pieces, some updated with modern paint and some still sporting their original veneer, can still look relevant in a home in 2022 when mixed with strong, contemporary colours, thick and tactile textures, and splashes of bold pattern.
And when that decor is subtly pulled through the whole home, via accent colours in patterns, painted floors, feature walls, accessories and furniture, however eclectic and maximalist the scheme, it flows seamlessly through each space to give a visual and atmospheric connection yet also allows each room to present its own personality.
The business and home is on the market for £625,000 with CPS Homes, call their Roath branch on 029 2045 4555 to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, auction properties, renovation stories, and interiors - join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter, sent to your inbox twice a week.
READ NEXT:
-
The full list of stunning properties shortlisted for RIBA Grand Designs' House of the Year 2022
First look inside former Mumbles restaurant with rooms that's being transformed into luxury homes
The luxury gated development home for sale in one of Wales' poshest villages
Trendy waterside apartment boasts amazing bay views from its three balconies
