The Property

Lovingly restored to preserve its 1930s soul, and seamlessly updated to meet the demands of modern family life, Dakota House blends timeless character with contemporary ease. Tucked away in a peaceful setting with private gardens and leafy outlooks, yet within swift reach of all the essentials, Dakota House is the perfect traditional family home for 21st century living.

Dating back to the 1930s and lovingly extended with reverence for its roots, Dakota House is as much a love letter to a golden age of architecture as it is a warm and welcoming family home, reimagined for modern living.

Since its purchase in 2017, Dakota House has been respectfully revived, extended and elevated to new heights of comfort. Behind the original 1930s façade, every system has been renewed, with new electrics, plumbing, heating and mains supplies laid; the groundwork for a home built to last. Period details are celebrated throughout, reconditioned or restored: rose brass handles polished back to their original sheen, while Evolution windows with ‘monkey tail’ stays nod to the past while quietly insulating for the future. Original parquet floors remain in situ beneath embracingly soft Indian-crafted Jacaranda carpet, while even the garden room tiles have been treated with linseed and wax for a hand-finished touch.

From the hidden upgrades to the heritage-led design, the renovations at Dakota House mirror the care and consideration of its upkeep both indoors and out.

Situated on the peaceful fringe of Caldy, one of the Wirral’s most prestigious villages, with easy access to the renowned local grammar school, Dakota House rises up behind clipped greenery, its sweeping in-and-out drive offering plenty of parking. An EVC point compliments the integrated double garage.

A tiered archway forms the beautifully glazed front door, bringing you into an original herringbone decked reception hall beyond.

The sitting room is dressed in soothing sage green, where light and garden views are drawn in from both a broad bay window to the rear and a vast, walk-in bay window to the side. Original plaster moulding lines the walls alongside richly tiered cornicing to the ceiling, restored and refreshed by the current owners. A working coal fireplace fills the room with warmth in winter time, while handwoven Jacaranda wool carpet, made in India, is comfortingly soft underfoot.

The orangery ushers the outdoors in. Above, the Hardmans Glass roof lantern bathes the room in light, while French doors open invitingly to the golden gravel terrace. Rebuilt by the current owners, including the careful laying of terracotta tiles with linseed and wax treatment, this is a spacious, multifunctional, all-season room. Formal dining awaits in the regal dining room, where original English oak parquet flooring flows through from the entrance hall. Along the inner hallway, a cloakroom with a separate WC and washbasin houses a vanity unit storage, alongside hanging space for coats. Down from the cloakroom, a laundry room houses the washing machine and dryer, offering further storage space, whilst to the right is the classically designed, timeless kitchen.

Pairing heritage craftsmanship with modern functionality, the meticulously refurbished early Smallbone kitchen sets the tone with its timeless cabinetry, updated with sleek granite worktops and top-tier appliances, including Neff ovens, a hob and extractor and currently housing a cream electric Aga.

A classic Shaws sink with elegant nickel taps gives a nod to the heritage of the home, while a sociable central island brings everyone together. Open and airy, French doors invite the garden in, perfect for summer suppers and children spilling out to play. With the playroom just off the kitchen, it’s a space that balances grown-up design with real family flow.

The playroom opens up from the kitchen with direct access into the garage. Designed to honour the home’s 1930s roots and built using carefully sourced reclaimed bricks, inspired by the historic warehouses of the Baltic Triangle, the games room blends seamlessly with the original architecture. Authentic Crittall windows and doors (sourced from John Knight Glass) flood the space with natural light by day – the outdoors easily accessible beyond – while in the evenings, the room becomes a cosy, open retreat for film nights and family time.

Upstairs a Clive Christian furnished office offers flexible usage, while next door the first of the spacious double bedrooms- lined with Clive Christian fitted wooden wardrobes- house verdant views across the garden.

An incredibly spacious family bathroom brims with light. The freestanding, roll top, claw-footed bath sits centrally amidst traditional metro-style tiling on the walls. The bathroom alos features a separate shower and twin wash basins.

Serving as a Jack and Jill en suite, the bathroom also connects through to the third of the guest bedrooms; a soothing and sophisticated king-size room dressed in botanical wallpaper and furnished with an array of fitted furniture. Opposite, a buff-tiled shower room is warmed by underfloor heating, with twin wash basins and vanity unit storage.

The ultimate guest suite offers a boutique hotel level of luxury for visitors. Built-in Clive Christian wardrobes feature throughout the bedroom, and within the walk-in wardrobe. Tedd Todd under-floor heating flows underfoot so guests can luxuriate that little while longer.

On the uppermost floor, the fully converted loft level is now a peaceful and private principal suite offering total seclusion from the rest of the bedrooms below. Abundant storage awaits in the spacious dressing room, and a period-tiled walk-in shower room en suite, where a Silestone-topped vanity unit houses twin wash basins, boasts an abundance of light streaming through a large window overlooking the garden. Also on this self-contained level is a separate office, which has much flexibility for future use.

Externally

From summer barbecues to games on the lawn, the garden shifts with the seasons.

Level, private and largely evergreen, the garden has proven itself through every season. Birch trees blaze with autumn colour, while deep borders provide year-round structure and a screen of seclusion.

From early spring, camellias and rhododendrons begin the show of colour, giving way to a rolling display of pinks, reds, yellows and purples. A mature wisteria twists its way along a garden path behind the games room, blooming twice a year with theatrical beauty. A grapevine, dense and dripping with late-summer fruit, has become part of the family tradition at Dakota House, harvested, juiced, frozen and poured out for refreshment year-round. A kitchen garden houses veds and a greenhouse, with a toolshed and bikeshed tucked neatly away at the front.