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Catherine and Alistair Colston replaced plans to renovate an older property with a purpose-built home designed for phased retirement. Its ground-floor main suite and accessible features sit alongside a balcony, considered interiors and energy systems including solar panels and an air source heat pump.
Property investor Catherine Colston and her husband, chartered surveyor Alistair Colston, have built a home designed to support them through phased retirement, with a ground-floor main bedroom suite and other features intended to accommodate changing mobility. Their project replaces a plan to renovate an older house with a new build tailored to their future needs, showing how practical planning and individual design can coexist.
The couple had lived for 26 years in a Grade II-listed home before deciding to downsize. They initially considered retrofitting a property across the road from their eventual site, but Catherine told Ideal Home that the work would have been expensive and would have required compromises on room sizes. They applied for permission to demolish and rebuild, then extend to the side over the area of a small garage. The source does not identify the location of the property.
Working with BPB Architects and interior designer Grace King of Studio Rey, the couple planned the layout around present and anticipated needs. The main bedroom suite is on the ground floor, and the en-suite includes a large walk-in shower and double vanity. Catherine described the aim as making the home “Zimmer-proof,” referring to a walking frame, and said they wanted to avoid needing a stair lift. The floating balcony, accessible from both the living room and main bedroom, is another central feature.
The home also includes solar panels on its south-facing roof, an air source heat pump, triple glazing and underfloor heating. The couple selected these systems with thermal efficiency in mind; Catherine said the house is warm and costs little to run. Those are her reported impressions, not independently verified energy or cost figures. Outside, the couple have created terraces, raised beds and a pond intended to help with rainwater irrigation. An outdoor kitchen is planned, and they intend to plant fruit trees and wildflowers on a portion of a nearby field they purchased.
Planning for Later-Life Living
The project puts accessibility into the original layout, rather than treating it as a later adaptation. A ground-floor bedroom and generous shower may reduce the need to use stairs for everyday routines, while the couple’s design choices reflect their experience of mobility issues among their elderly parents. The home is a specific example, not evidence that new builds are generally accessible or affordable.
It also illustrates that planning for retirement does not require a purely clinical-looking interior. The couple paired practical decisions—such as ergonomic kitchen drawers and a dishwasher positioned at waist height—with materials, color and outdoor features selected for enjoyment. For readers considering a move or renovation, the case highlights the value of weighing future access needs alongside how they want to live now.
There are limits to what can be inferred from the report. It provides no construction budget, build duration, measured energy performance or comparison with the cost of adapting an existing house. Those details would be needed to judge how readily other households could pursue a similar project.
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From Listed Home to New Build
The Colstons’ decision followed more than two decades in a Grade II-listed property. Their initial interest in renovating another house changed after they concluded that retrofit costs and constraints on room sizes did not fit their plans. They then sought permission for demolition and a replacement home with a side extension. The source does not give the planning authority’s name, dates or conditions attached to approval.
The couple worked with BPB Architects on the layout and Studio Rey’s Grace King on the interiors. The design includes a handleless kitchen with ergonomic drawers, a living room picture window, sliding doors to the balcony and coordinated timber and color finishes across rooms. Catherine credited King with helping translate their vision into a home that feels distinctive as well as practical.
For the garden, the couple wanted to reduce the upkeep required by their previous outdoor space. Terraces provide places to sit and eat outdoors, while raised beds make planting easier to reach. They also plan a future outdoor kitchen and planting on the field they bought behind the house. These are features of this particular home; the source does not report that all planned work has been completed.
“We wanted a home that was going to see us through our latter years.”
— Catherine Colston, speaking to Ideal Home
Costs and Performance Remain Unreported
Ideal Home’s report does not state the home’s purchase, design or construction costs, how long the project took, or whether the couple’s build budget changed. It also gives no energy bills, measured efficiency data or independent assessment of the systems. Catherine’s view that the home costs little to run should be understood as her account, not a verified comparison.
The report does not provide an accessibility audit, dimensions, or details about step-free access throughout the property. While the main suite and shower were planned with future mobility in mind, it is unclear how the full home would accommodate different disabilities or changing care requirements. The outdoor kitchen is still to come, and the planned planting on the field is described as future work.
The Couple’s Plans for the Grounds
The next stated outdoor projects are an outdoor kitchen and planting fruit trees and wildflowers on the field behind the house. The couple have also described the pond as a way to help with rainwater irrigation. The source gives no timetable for those works and does not report any further construction or renovation plans.
For readers assessing similar projects, the next useful information would be actual build costs, running costs over time and evidence of how the accessibility choices work in daily life. None is included in the report, so the home is best understood as a documented example of one couple’s priorities rather than a costed template for retirement housing.
Key Questions
Who lives in the new-build home?
Catherine Colston, a property investor and owner of Black Door Stays, lives there with her husband Alistair, a chartered surveyor. They designed the home for their phased retirement.
What features were designed for future mobility?
The main bedroom suite is on the ground floor, and the en-suite has a large walk-in shower. The couple also chose ergonomic kitchen drawers and a waist-height dishwasher to reduce bending. The report does not include a formal accessibility assessment.
What energy systems does the house have?
The house has solar panels on its south-facing roof, an air source heat pump, triple glazing and underfloor heating. The report does not provide energy bills or measured performance data.
Why did the couple build instead of renovate?
They first considered renovating an existing house but said the work would be expensive and would force compromises on room sizes. They applied to demolish and rebuild, with a side extension, to create a layout better suited to their plans.
Are all the garden features finished?
No. The report says the couple created terraces and raised beds and installed a pond, but an outdoor kitchen is still planned. They also intend to plant fruit trees and wildflowers on land they bought behind the house.
Source: idealhome.co.uk
