New homes in the village of Harton (From York Press)

New homes in the village of Harton

12:15pm Thursday 19th July 2012

Brian Page imagines just how beautiful this collection of country homes will look once – or should that be if – the sun ever comes out to play.

I KNOW it’s hard to imagine right now – but sometimes about this time of year a great golden globe can be seen in the sky and the world is filled with warmth and brightness.

And when summer finally reaches England, where better to enjoy it than the beautiful countryside of God’s own country…

Those thoughts came to mind when we took a look at the view from a delightful collection of new homes in the lovely village of Harton. (We’ll leave aside a suspicion that, so blue is the sky, the picture showing that view must have been taken before Noah set sail in his rain-soaked ark 40 days and 40 nights ago).

The homes, Orchard House and Orchard Cottages, are in a simply stunning spot in this conservation village off the A64 and about half way between Malton and York, offering easy access to town and city (as well as a host of other commuting routes).

An ideal location, too, for those who love the countryside – with views of the Howardian Hills in the distance, the Yorkshire Wolds a short drive away and the joys provided by living in a rural retreat in its own right.

And what of the homes themselves?

Well, we think they not only look smart – but the have been smartly built, too.

Not least in that the houses were designed by Zero C, who, as the name implies, are a company that specialises in sustainable development.

The collection here has followed the line of other homes designed by Zero C elsewhere in the UK; they are hugely energy-efficient and, for instance, harness eco-friendly technology including air-source heat pumps to provide all hot water and heating and up-to-the-minute insulation techniques (information kindly provided by the development brochure, lest you think we have come over all techy-talkie.)

We prefer to concentrate on the beautifully-crafted styling of the homes themselves, the fact that they have big, light and airy rooms and plenty of living space inside and out.

Let us walk you through the properties, starting with Orchard House, a detached modern home designed to blend nicely with its rural neighbours.

We really liked the natural flow of the house, with a spacious entrance hall (with cloakroom and utility room off) leading to the main rooms.

The living room – which runs to almost 21ft – has lots of light from a window to the front and doors opening onto the garden at the back and there is a feature fireplace at its centre.

The kitchen breakfast room is another delight, with windows to two sides and a door out to the garden. It has been smartly fitted and includes a central island and more than enough room for wining and dining guests – although, if you would prefer, there is a separate formal dining room to the front of the house.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms, all of them good-sized doubles with the master having a dressing room and en-suite shower room.

A second of the bedrooms has been set up as a good guest suite with, again, an en-suite shower room.

There is a further house bathroom on this floor (all of these bathroom facilities are highly-contemporary and smartly set out).

The package is neatly wrapped up with a grand-looking gravelled area to the front and an enclosed rear garden.

And now onto Orchard Cottages, a jolly-looking pair of semi-detached homes in the same spot. They both follow the same lay-out and have a similar sense of space and style to the larger Orchard House.

On the ground floor, there is a long entrance hall off which we first find a large living room (16ft 7in by almost 16ft) with windows to the front. We pass a ground floor cloakroom on the way to the open-plan kitchen dining room.

Here, as with Orchard House, the fittings are smart and stylish with the kitchen having a utility room off to one side and a glide into the dining area (with French doors opening onto the garden) to the other. Upstairs the master bedroom has an en-suite shower room and there are two further double bedrooms and a fourth bedroom/study and a house bathroom.

Outside, each of the cottages has a pebbled driveway with plenty of hard-standing parking space and a garage to the front and an enclosed rear garden.

Nice homes, then, in a nice location – which will look even better once the sun decides to put his hat on…

• Orchard House is priced at £425,000.

• Orchard Cottages are each priced at £375,000

• Contact: DHP Croft on 01904 238222.