The moment I stepped through the front door of Bridge House, I knew I’d finally found ‘the one’. It was built in the 70s so the exterior left a little to be desired, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?
We’d been searching for our perfect ‘forever home’ for what felt like a lifetime and after receiving an offer on our house, we were beginning to panic that we’d never find it. As the estate agent finished her tour of the ground floor, she led us upstairs and it was at this point my husband turned to give me a knowing glance and squeezed my hand with excitement. I knew it – he was falling in love, too.
We were quick to put an offer in – the same evening, in fact – and when it was accepted it felt like we were dreaming. We couldn’t contain our excitement and quickly set to work dressing each room in our heads. We went back twice more and each time discovered something new to fall in love with. We were smitten and it was all we talked about. We were falling, deeply.
Our dream was shattered two days before Christmas. Our buyer pulled out so we had to back out of our purchase. It felt like a hammer to the heart and I was an emotional wreck. My husband called me: ‘Pull yourself together,’ he said, ‘it’s just a house.’ Just a house? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I knew he’d fallen for it just as much as I had – how could he just switch off his feelings like that?
I soon discovered that was his coping mechanism for dealing with the ‘break-up’. I should have known. I was wearing my heart on my sleeve as I so often do, while he was acting like he didn’t really care for fear of showing his true feelings. The moment I saw him I knew he was heartbroken, too.
There was no point in moping around and no time to waste, we had to win our Bridge House back. I put our house straight back on the market and within two weeks, it sold. Sadly and unsurprisingly, so had Bridge House – I mean, who wouldn’t fall in love with such a charming home?
I told myself it must be fate and we started to come to terms with things. Something better would come along. But though we searched high and low, it never did. We compared everything to our beloved Bridge House and nothing else even came close. We tried, but we just couldn’t get over it and move on.
Then one day, out of the blue, we received a phone call. It was the estate agents telling us Bridge House was back on the market. We couldn’t believe our luck. Without hesitation, we reinstated our offer and it was ours all over again. Just like that.
The sales process seemed to take a lifetime and we were so nervous of anything else going wrong, but it didn’t and eventually, we were reunited with our beautiful home.
Now, as I sit in my garden room listening to the birds sing while I enjoy my morning coffee, or dance around the kitchen with my husband while preparing dinner, I still have to pinch myself. Losing something you love is incredibly hard, but winning it back makes you appreciate it so much more. Every love story has its ups and downs, but this one has thankfully turned out to be a match made in heaven and we will never, ever look back.
CC, Nottinghamshire
Further information
'The make up, break up house' is part of our new series, A Savills Love Story, prompted by Savills new advertising campaign.
We invite you to submit your own Savills Love Story. What made you fall for your home? Was it love at first sight or more of a slow burn? Do you have a 'type' or is your approach to house-buying more pragmatic? Or tell us about your fantasy home – the magical place you've always wanted to live, perhaps inspired by a novel or a fleeting glimpse in a magazine? We will donate £50 to YoungMinds for every story we publish on Savills UK Blog. We'll also make a donation for every story submitted for consideration.