When Peter and Angela Smith began the search for a new home in the UK that would allow them to downsize comfortably and spend more time at their apartment in Chianti, Tuscany they never imagined it would take them three years to find the perfect property. They finally found their new home at Millgate Homes’ Essendon Park development in Hertfordshire. Peter says:

“Having spent over four years creating our perfect home in Italy, we now plan to make the most of it. Downsizing has always been on our agenda - we plan to spend roughly six months in the UK and six months abroad, either in Italy or Angela’s native Australia, and our large family home in Harpenden just didn’t suit this new lifestyle.

“However, finding the right property has not been easy. We have been looking for the past three years and have visited numerous properties in and around Harpenden, but found that they lacked style – something which, as an interior designer, is important to Angela.

“Having made the decision to look further afield, we discovered Essendon Park. We initially looked at the apartments, but I needed convincing that apartment living was for us – our previous property had a large garden and I just wasn’t ready to give up my outdoor space. We really liked the ambience of the development, with its gated environment, concierge service, communal grounds and rural surroundings, so when we viewed the Courtyard houses with their charming gardens we were sold.

“Now we’ve moved in, we’re looking forward to making the most of our new lifestyle – this is a really unique development and it was worth waiting 3 years to find.”