Ryan and Megan moved into their first home – The Damson at Thorpe Paddocks – in March 2021. We were delighted to have them, and their adorable dog Roxy, show us how they've since made their beautiful house a home.
We chatted about how they found and fell in love with The Damson, their favourite parts of both their home and living at Thorpe Paddocks, and how they found the Homes by Carlton buying experience.
Q: What’s it like living at Thorpe Paddocks?
Megan: It’s lovely, everyone here is really friendly. We get on so well with our neighbours and it definitely has a community feel, there’s a Facebook page where everyone can get to know each other. We moved away from where we both grew up and this was a new start for us, so it’s been really nice to meet new people and feel like we’re getting into village life.
With new-builds, everyone is pretty much moving in at the same time and you have this novice experience of getting to know everyone, whereas my parents have lived in their house for around 30 years and barely speak to their neighbours.
Q: What’s your favourite thing about living in Thorpe Thewles?
Ryan: You’re about five minutes away from Norton high street, 10-15 minutes away from Yarm, there’s a huge Tesco close, but you’re also kind of secluded within the village. It feels very unique.
Megan: And the pub (The Hamilton Russell Arms)!
Q: Why did you choose the 3-bedroom Damson?
Ryan: We first looked at The Damson at Middleton Waters, then we fell in love with the Thorpe Thewles area.
Megan: This was our first house, so we wanted something that was big enough for family visiting but still cosy enough that we could make it feel like home, and that was the beauty of The Damson. The garden really drew us in as well, it backs onto the woods which is really lovely and it feels very safe and private.
Ryan: We didn’t see any other new-builds that had this size garden and weren’t backed up on. The house is 3-bedroom and 2-bathroom too, so we can each have our own home office.
Megan: The open-plan also works really well for this sized home. It feels nice when we’re cooking, if we have people over, we can all still be in one space. We really love open-plan living.
Q: What's your favourite part of your home?
Megan: I love our bedroom. We both have quite busy jobs, so it's nice to just relax up there. We've made it comfy and cosy, quite a dark space.
Ryan: I would say the garden. It's a great size and such a sun trap.
Megan: There's a path through the woodlands at the back of the garden and Roxy loves trying to see the dogs go past through the trees. We've lived here through all four seasons and even in the Winter, when the leaves have fallen off the trees, it's still so private. Then in the Spring it's even more lovely.
Ryan: You also can't hear any noise from the road, even when you're sitting out in the sun.
Q: What's the area like for walking Roxy?
Megan: It's great. Roxy loves the woodland, if we walk in that direction she gets so excited. She also loves the fields, where we can take her ball and play fetch with her. She's very lucky here.
Q: How did you find out about Homes by Carlton and what drew you to us?
Ryan: We first found the Middleton Waters development on Rightmove. We went to view The Damson there and just loved the standard of finishes when compared to any other new-builds. Honestly, we’d never really been open to a new-build before that. The finishes and the customer service right from the start was fantastic.
Q: As first-time buyers, how did you find the Homes by Carlton buying experience?
Megan: Being a first-time buyer was a minefield, but the team were amazing.
Ryan: We had no idea what we were doing and they helped us with absolutely everything. The communication throughout was fantastic. We'd email them stressing out and have a reply within about two hours, which was a huge help.
Megan: Michael and Kirk (Site Managers) were great too. Whenever we'd come to the house they would make sure they were here and help us with any changes we wanted to make. Everyone was really good, it was next level service, not what we were expecting at all.
Ryan: Just the little touches were great.
Q: How did you find the choices process?
Megan: There were so many choices! We were so pleasantly surprised by the different ranges of materials and colours. And again, they were really good quality.
Ryan: The finishes are great, even down to the doors.
Q: Would you recommend Homes by Carlton?
Megan: Without a doubt. And if we move, we again want that to be with Homes by Carlton. I don't think we could sway now.
Thank you Ryan and Megan (and Roxy!) for being so welcoming and taking the time to show us around your beautiful home and share your experience.
Thorpe Paddocks is all sold out, but we have a number of other beautiful developments – including Middleton Waters in Middleton St George, where we have a selection of 2, 3, 4 and 5-bedroom homes starting from £175,000 – in the North East that we know will blow you away.
If you'd like to find out more, please call 0333 034 1355 or email sales@homesbycarlton.com.