This old house
Above: High and mighty: Vaulted ceiling adds to sense of space in the open-plan lounge and dining room
Above: Room to spread: Elegant dining table and chairs
Above: Grand: Piano in the dining room
Above: Shining: Kitchen with surfaces of sparkling embedded shells
Above: Sweeping staircase
Above: The master bedroom
Above: Pool, anyone? The games room and bar
Above: Relaxing seating in the cinema room
Nestled in the heart of Lewes town centre is Watergate House, a converted period property with a stunning terrace offering spectacular views over the town and beyond to the South Downs.
“The property didn’t always look like this,” explains Debbie. “When we bought the building it was the East Sussex county council’s music school. It took three years before we could start work on the property because we had to wait for all the necessary planning permission.”
Once work began the whole building had to be transformed from the old offices that once had cages in the basement where the instruments were kept, to a luxury four-bedroom home.
“The floor of the lounge was the only thing that was left from the old music school. The front door opened on to scaffolding planks that you had to walk across and climb down ladders to reach the basement.”
At ground level the property now has three en-suite bedrooms and a grand central staircase that leads upstairs to the open plan living and kitchen area and downstairs to a games room, a guest bedroom and home cinema. Debbie’s favourite room is the kitchen. “I love it because it’s so bright, clean and crisp. I think it’s a very successful room,” she says. “What’s unusual is that the work surface has shells in it that sparkle in the light.”
The Ghiaci family wanted to create a contemporary but minimal look. They decided to keep the original beams in the living area but try to restore them back to their former glory.
The whole development was moving along quite successfully until the doors were due to be delivered. Lewes town centre was nearly brought to a standstill.
“There are three separate doors that lead out on to the terraces that were incredibly heavy. They were due to be delivered on a huge juggernaut lorry from Poland. On the day of delivery they were late and we were worried the driver had got lost. We were later informed the police had escorted him out of Lewes three times because there was no room for a lorry of that size. So one of the builders got in his smaller lorry, found him along the A27 and managed to put the doors on his truck. That was a bit of an ordeal for one day.”