Sometimes you instantly know when you’ve found the perfect home. For Brian and Asa Diboll, it was when they headed south from their home in Chipstead to the countryside of West Sussex.
“When we first visited Thakeham village and discovered the Abingworth Meadows development, we knew immediately this was right for us,” said Brian. “It ticked all our boxes and more. The house itself was of a very high spec with an excellent finish and the open plan layout is such a great space for entertaining.”
But it was the unique rural setting which first caught the eye of the Dibolls. “Oakford Homes have created a wonderful scheme with a real village feel and surrounded by countryside. Their marketing of ‘Embrace the space’ showed an ariel photos of the rural setting of Abingworth Meadows and it’s true, there’s so much space here.”
The houses at Abingworth Meadows are set back from the road and interspersed with generous landscaped areas including a pond with a fountain. There’s also a cricket pitch, football pitches and a play area as well as amenities on the doorstep including a village store, cafe, vet, and village hall.
“Nothing we’ve come across was anything like this,” added Brian. “On our first visit we stopped for lunch at The Meadows cafe, it’s just amazing to have something like this on site. We then took our cockerpoo, Teddy, for a walk in the countryside and by the time we returned to the Oakford Homes show home, we’d both decided this was the place we wanted to live.”
Brian and Asa had originally decided to move further out from Chipstead, where they’d lived for 12 years, for more space and better value for money. His new job also meant Brian no longer had to commute into London every day, making a move to the countryside even more workable.
“We were specifically looking for a new development because we wanted everything to be clean and new, from the heating to the bathroom fitments and kitchen appliances. Oakford Homes have included a very high specification with Smeg appliances and the kitchen has a real ‘wow’ factor.”
Brian and Asa put their Chipstead house on the market and it went under offer quickly but the buyer pulled out on the day of exchange. Luckily they secured another buyer within a couple of weeks and were able to start planning their move to Abingworth Meadows.
“Oakford Homes were a brilliant support during the sales process which was quite stressful because of our chain,” said Brian. “Asa and I would both like to say a big thank you to Lesley, Ruth and Fred in the Sales Office for their constant updates and their dedicated after-care service. Lesley was very open with us all the way through. Even after we’d exchanged she would phone every Friday with an update about construction progress on the house. It all adds up to that extra sense of confidence once you moved in. And Natalie at Oakford Homes’s Customer Care responded straightaway to any of our queries, making sure that everything was sorted out quickly which gives you a sense of confidence in the quality of the house.”
Brian and Asa chose a detached 4 bedroom house in ‘The Willow’ design which features high ceilings and large windows which allow natural light to flood into every room.
“The clincher for me was the size of the garden and the huge open plan kitchen/dining area. It’s just beautiful and our guests have all commented on the ‘wow’ factor as soon as they walk in. And whereas my study was upstairs in one of the bedrooms in our old house, now I have a dedicated study downstairs which is a great improvement. Oakford Homes have included everything in the specification, even the carpets and tiles, and it’s all to our taste which was another tick in the box. All we had to do was add our furnishings and settle in.”
Since moving to Abingworth Meadows, Brian and Asa have enjoyed the community feel of the development which has the added bonuses of a village shop, village hall, cricket pavilion and many country walks nearby.
“With so many nice walks to discover, it’s even like we have a different dog because our cockerpoo, Teddy, is so much more relaxed now than where we lived before. We’ve felt right at home surrounded by lovely neighbours and a great community.
“Thakeham is such a friendly place. People talk to each other with more than just a polite hello and kids play outside because there’s just so much space here. I’ve never known anywhere quite like this, we’ve definitely found our happy place. We would highly recommend Oakford Homes development to anyone. The area and the house just keep on giving, it’s truly special!”