TO Great designs The house said to have some of the best views of Lake Windemere will close its doors as a B&B next month.
Dome House, as the Lake District home is better known, first appeared on the show in 2010, and the Channel 4 show documented its transformation from a drab 1980s property to a modern haven that blends seamlessly into its picturesque surroundings.
But the house, which was created with “inordinate ambition,” came at an enormous price, threatening “everything” its creator, architect Robert Gaukroger, “cherished,” including the safety of his home and family.
On the programme, he explained that he wanted to fulfill his childhood dream of building a house and at the same time create a property with his architectural stamp in the Lake District.
However, construction was plagued with problems and the initial mortgage of £600,000 was not enough to cover the grand design, leaving the family at one point with £100,000 left in the bank and an incomplete house.
In the end, the property cost more than £1 million to build, the money for which was secured by another loan.
The house, which Kevin McCloud described as “stunning,” has seven bedrooms, a pool, a sauna and, perhaps best of all, an uninterrupted view of Lake Windemere.
While Gaukroger hoped to live on the property and use it as a profitable vacation rental business for the foreseeable future with his wife and two children, it was eventually sold in 2016 to Yvonne Malley.
The price the property sold for at the time is unknown, but it was originally listed for sale for £2.3 million before the price dropped to £1.45 million.
Malley, who reportedly saw the house on television and became interested in it as a B&B, eventually passed the business on to his son Phil McGuire, who has been running it successfully for several years.
But McGuire has now revealed that the time has come for him and his partner Joyce to “move to pastures new” and that the B&B will close its doors in June.
McGuire said: “After seven years running Dome House, Joyce and I have decided to move on to pastures new.
“That means if you ever wanted to visit us or come back, there are only a few weeks left to do so.
“It has been a true privilege to serve so many guests over the years, so come and help us celebrate the end in style.”
The B&B is offering a 20 percent discount to anyone who wants to stay at the property before it closes to the public.
With the discount, this means two-night stays at the luxury property can be purchased for a minimum of £336.
Before its closure as a B&B, the house came back on the market for an asking price of £3 million, down from the £3.5 million it was listed for sale for last year.
The independent has contacted Dome House for more information.
