Marten and Alex Julian say that Hylands, their home in Kendal, has provided their family with everything they’ve needed for the last 15 years.

There has been enough space for their two youngest daughters to entertain their friends and later to live independently at the house while they saved for homes of their own.

Alex, who is an award-winning sugarcrafter, has taught classes in the technique at Hylands while Marten, who is a renowned horse-racing expert and journalist, has an office in a converted apple store in the garden from where he’s written books, columns and blogs.

Hylands is only a few minutes from Kendal town centre on Brigsteer Road but is in a secluded setting with more than two acres of gardens including a tennis court.

When Marten and Alex bought the house in 2002 it had been split up into a number of flats with individual tenants and they set about putting it back together as a family house, replacing lead plumbing and updating the electrics.

A second staircase meant that their two youngest daughters could have their own space when they were growing up and later on they could live independently at Hylands while saving to buy homes of their own.

“We never felt we owned it, we felt we were the custodians and guardians of it,” says Marten. “It’s been wonderful because it’s given an opportunity for us to set our family up in property ownership.”

Hylands dates from 1910 and was built by Abraham Pattinson of Windermere, whose firm is still in existence today. The architect was Abraham’s brother, Joseph, and construction costs were £500.

Abraham built Hylands for his own use but it was also intended as a show home where he could demonstrate the level of craftsmanship offered by his firm. Extensive oak panelling, wood carving, plaster moulding and fireplaces are in numerous styles and designs.

The idea was that prospective clients, who were having large properties built at Windermere or Troutbeck, could visit Hylands and choose what they wanted in their own home.

“He wanted to use it as a showhome to show people what he did,” says Alex. “Of course you didn’t have computer images in those days, so they did it all.”

Alex says the oak panelling, which covers the large entrance hall and the dining room, was very dry when they bought the house and she brought it back to life by feeding it with a mixture of oil and wax. She repeats the process every year to maintain the lustre of the wood.

“We’re just very lucky that previous owners didn’t rip the panelling out in the 60s,” she says.

The dining room has an abundance of carved designs, including four distinct patterns on the mantelpiece and a highly decorative court cupboard.

The house has a variety of window styles, including stone mullion and leaded lights, again intended to demonstrate the Pattinson craftsmanship. Other period details to have survived intact include brass door handles and fitted cupboard doors.

The wood kitchen is by Atlantis Kitchens in Kendal and the Aga was supplied by the Kendal Aga showroom.

The main staircase was built in oak and has several designs of carving. The master bedroom is papered with a Designers Guild floral wallpaper supplied by Indigo Furnishings of Kirkland in Kendal, who also made the curtains.

The antique bed was from Seventh Heaven in Wrexham and the chaise longue, which was a gift from Alex’s friend Margaret Elleray of Indigo Furnishings, was reupholstered by another friend, Sarah Manley.

A bathroom adjacent to the master bedroom has a roll-top bath with claw feet that’s original to the house but was originally fitted in another bathroom and had been boxed in. Friends carried the heavy bath down two flights of stairs and into its new position.

The bath is positioned so it has a view of the garden and Alex has used two decorative pillars to hold large candles.

The sitting room has decorative plasterwork wall mouldings. The original fireplace, which wasn’t usable, was replaced with a reproduction fire and surround and a mantelpiece from Alex’s childhood home.

Notable architectural features outside the house include distinctive tulip shaped chimneys and the gardens have attracted wildlife including owls, deer, badgers and peregrine falcons.

“It’s no secret we’ve made considerable sacrifices to try to keep this place in the manner it warrants,” says Marten. “We feel it’s unique. I know it’s a much misused word but it is unique, because there aren’t any other houses like this in walking distance of Kendal.”

Hylands is for sale at £1.4m from Scott Bainbridge of Kendal, tel. 01539 725496.

* This article first appeared in Cumbria Life.