That woman is having a hard time climbing the stairs here. How do they expect to manage that huge house when they are yet older when they move in? Sarah is so right about making the little rental cottage. I"m surprised they were allowed to ruin that magnificent window. What a shame.
These days, smart people build homes with a room on the ground floor that could be used as a bedroom for that very reason (even if it's used for something like a playroom or study until then). Such an inconsiderate renovation too. That window was so lovely, I would've loved to live in a house with something like that.
Those tiles in the kitchen - they are SO COMMON! I see them in almost every episode of Location, Location, Location or Escape to the Country (though usually with a blue in the mix). I sometimes wonder if the UK even HAS any other options for kitchen tiles. And in a big kitchen like that, not having a table means that the cook will be isolated. Sarah is right: people tend to gather in the kitchen. Nowhere to sit means they will be standing around underfoot if they come in to be near the cook, and the cook will feel isolated and cut off from guests and family. Not going with a table is a stupid choice in a FAMILY home where the parents are going to be wanting to keep an eye on the kids and the kids are going to want to hang out in the kitchen.
In the US, I have the feeling that the producers would have tactfully 'helped' the woman get her dentures fitted so they don't click and rattle every time she speaks... Ah, the joys of UK socialized dentistry.
You see it again and again and again on Location, Location, Location, or Escape to the Country: older couples who want their 'dream house,' but the problem is that it's a house they dreamed of when they were young and fit, when they had several children at home, etc. It's an aspirational house for a young family, not something they should be taking on potentially 5-10 years before they die. Often, they have a fantasy of having not only their children somehow using the house, but their children's spouses and children. So it's a fantasy of having 'all the family here' but for Christmas, maybe - realistically, once or twice a year they will fill that house with family (and no thought of how much WORK and expense it is to clean and prepare beds and meals, etc. for a house full of people). But they go ahead and buy a house with that fantasy in mind. Forget that their children are currently taking holidays abroad and are unlikely to want to spend two weeks summer holidays in a village with their parents. Forget the fact that their children's spouses also have parents who will expect visits. Forget the fact that their children sometimes live on the other side of the planet and are not going to be coming home for Sunday dinners. They have this 'dream' of a huge family in a huge house, and they buy it at age 65. I'd love to see a follow-up when they are 70 or 75. Are they still rattling around in the 'dream'?
