Vijay and Hardeep Kumar in their dream garden at Oak Grange, Littleover
Sir Rod Stewart enjoys model railways, Beyonce makes honey and Tom Hanks loves collecting vintage typewriters. But it’s not just celebrities whose hobbies hit the headlines.
To celebrate National Hobby Month this January, award-winning housing developer William Davis Homes is proud to show the different ways its customers enjoy their own perfect pastimes in their beautiful new homes.
A man with a passion for planes has helped to keep his neighbourhood’s aviation heritage alive by setting-up an aircraft simulator in the spare bedroom.
Dave Larder, a semi-retired joiner, and his wife Terry have moved into a new William Davis home at Market Harborough’s Wellington Place – named after the Wellington bombers based in the area in the Second World War.
“I’ve been interested in planes since I was a boy and it’s wonderful to have a room where I can test my skills as a pilot,” said Dave.
“We call this room The Cockpit,” added Terry. “It’s got all the flight controls and you can take off from any airport in the world. The scenery is spectacular.”
Dream Garden
Green-fingered Hardeep Kumar created her dream garden, featuring mementos collected from around the world.
Within just a few months, Hardeep transformed what she described as a ‘blank canvas’ when she and husband Vijay bought the new four-bedroom William Davis home in Derby.
The couple chose the Oak Grange development in Littleover following Vijay’s retirement after forty years as an engineer at Rolls Royce.
“I wanted to create a garden which is attractive, relaxing and brings back lots of lovely memories,” says Hardeep. Among the colourful plants and shrubs are ornaments collected from various countries they have visited, including Mauritius and Mexico.
Perfect Fit
Another William Davis customer, Gill Cottle, loves dressmaking and says her new home in Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire, is tailor-made for creating wonderful clothes. There is plenty of room for a purpose-built studio.
After moving to Prince’s Place, Gill set about creating lovely curtains for her new home. “My studio is a lovely space for working with different types of materials,” said Gill. “I’ve sewn all my life and I love working with my hands. When I was a teenager, I made all my own clothes.”
As well as creating new items, Gill also carries out alterations and has her own website to showcase her work.
William Davis’ Head of Marketing, Sarah Adul, said she was delighted to see how customers are enjoying their new homes:
“Whether it’s collecting items from around the world to decorate a garden, or flying around the world thanks to a simulator, it’s great to see our customers’ passion for their pastimes.”
