We caught up with the faces behind the Instagram account, @buildingdreamswynyard, a luxury self-build in the heart of Wynyard Park – one of the North East’s most affluent estates.
Named the Tree Tops, the luxury home of Leanne and James Maronitis contains five bedrooms and several bathrooms that are each fitted out with Lusso products, and nestled in the exclusive private estate of Wynyard Park, the home, at just under 4000 square feet, is amongst neighbouring self-builds and developments that range up to 0.55 acres of land on each plot.
Boasting a design that’s heavily inspired by the couple’s favourite architects and designers, such as Kelly Hoppen and Tony Holt, the home also adheres to the comprehensive design code in line with the Wynyard Park requirements – this code ensures that both traditional and contemporary concepts are considered, allowing natural diversity to thrive. The Tree Tops development was designed in collaboration with the estate’s architect Christian Cooling.
We spoke with Leanne who revealed all about the project for her family’s forever home, why she chose Lusso and what inspired her for each opulent space in the home.
Can you give us some background on your property and its design?
We had been dreaming of building our own home ever since I moved up to Teesside and fell in love with Wynyard eight years ago, but with business commitments there never seemed to be the right time. Both I and my partner have been in the building restoration industry for over 22 years and have always been very much focused and committed to restoring homes for our clients. During lockdown, we had time to reflect and decided it was time to build our own dream home together and in 2021 we built the ‘Tree Tops’, a five bedroomed detached self-build property on the exclusive private estate of Wynyard Park. When designing the property, we had a clear vision of the type of home we wanted to build and wanted something a little bit different and quirky, incorporating both modern building materials and lots of glazing to make the most of the beautiful woodland views.
What was your main aim when designing the house?
We did not want to design a traditional home but had to be mindful of the estate’s design guide to ensure the house was still in keeping with the rest of the estate, so we worked closely with the estate’s Architect – Christian Cooling – to design a modern luxury home which did not look out of place but was still a unique design.
Who inspires you when it comes to design and interiors?
We love neutral colour schemes, high open spaces and the feeling of luxury. We have a real passion for travel and enjoy seeing and experiencing the world and tend to immerse ourselves in the surroundings and appreciate different cultures and styles so we have taken a lot of inspiration from visiting different luxury hotels all over the world. We are inspired by different designers and interior styles from luxury boutique hotels, Miami mansions and Mykonian villas to Scandinavian vibes. Every room in our home has a distinctive style and different themes and textures. We love modern architecture and interior design. One of our favourite British interior designers is Kelly Hoppen, and our favourite British architect is Tony Holt. My sister-in-law is also an architect in Mykonos and has designed some amazing boutique hotels in the Cyclades.
When choosing your bathroom products, what was the main factor?
When designing the house, our master bedroom suite was at the top of our wish list and we had taken inspiration from some of the luxury suites we had stayed in at some of our favourite hotels in Dubai, (Jumeirah Al Naseem and The One and Only) which had stunning freestanding baths, his and hers round stone and marble basins and hanging mirrors. We both wanted a large open plan bedroom, ensuite and dressing room area and the brief to our designer (Mick at Nixon’s Interiors) was luxury boutique hotel vibes so the bathroom products had to be something special with a luxurious feel and a wow factor without blowing the budget.
What was it that made you choose Lusso?
Initially, we were looking for a modern freestanding bath and floor mounted tap for our master suite and main bathroom and we had seen a Lusso bath on Instagram and instantly fell in love with it. When we visited the website and saw all the other bathroom products and how modern and luxurious they all were, we were blown away and just knew we had found the perfect products we had been looking for to make our vision come to life. What made it even more special for us was that Lusso was a local business and during COVID we felt very much committed to supporting local businesses throughout the pandemic.
Can you tell us about the different bathrooms featuring Lusso, which Lusso products you have used and why?
For our master ensuite we already had a design for this room and picked the Picasso bath, Luxe Stainless Floorstanding Tap, Oasis Basins and Tall Monobloc Basin Mixer Taps as they were exactly what we were looking for to give our bathroom real luxury hotel suite feels. We also picked the Linear Stone Low Profile Shower Tray as this came in the exact size we needed (1700 x 900), Luxe Brushed Stainless Thermostatic Shower, Senza Rimless Matte Toilet and flush plate, and accessorised with the modern Stone Bath Caddy Shelf, Luxury Headrest Pillow, Consero Carrara Marble Large Round Tray, Tumbler and Luxe Toilet Roll Holder.
The cloakroom is the main toilet guests use so we really wanted something that stood out and was a bit different for this room, so we chose the Annelie Basin with the Urban Gunmetal Tap, Luxe Mirror and Senza Toilet and Gunmetal Flush Plate. We accessorised this room with the Moma Towel Rail which sits perfectly under the mirror and the Urban Toilet Roll Holder.
For our family bathroom we wanted a double freestanding vanity unit in this room and again wanted to go for luxury hotel bathroom vibes, so we chose the Dorchester Double Vanity Unit with the Luxe Brushed Stainless Taps and the matching mirror. We also wanted a freestanding bath for this room and went for a slightly smaller Picasso Bath with the Luxe Floorstanding Tap and a Linear Shower Enclosure with the Luxe Shower and the Senza Toilet. We accessorised with Consero Carrara Marble Tumbler, Rectangular Tray and Stainless Toilet Roll Holder.
We opted for something different for the bedroom two ensuite with more of a modern masculine feel and chose the Modus Vanity Unit with the Luxe Matte Black Basin Tap and the Luxe Matte Black Mirror. We chose the Low-profile Linear Shower Tray again in this room to keep it consistent throughout but went for the Lusso Designo Shower Screen instead and the Luxe Shower in Matte Black, again the Senza Toilet and Mia Toilet Roll Holder.
For the guest ensuite, we wanted to create a room that was home from home for our guests and chose the Celare Double Vanity Unit in Concrete Grey which really looks stunning in this room and has plenty of storage space. We picked the Plasma Mirror which contains a backlit LED and paired it with the Urban Basin Taps, and again opted for a Large Linear Shower Enclosure and Urban Gunmetal Shower. Due to the positioning of the window, we opted for the Senza Rimless Toilet for this room and accessorised with the Gunmetal Toilet Roll Holder.
Which Lusso product is your favourite?
Without a doubt the Picasso Bath! Not only is it an amazing centrepiece for our room and everyone comments on how stunning this is, it just completes our room and makes it the perfect sanctuary to come home from work and relax in!
How did you find the service when dealing with Lusso?
Mike was amazing at making recommendations and helping me pick out the perfect products for the different rooms and the whole team has been so helpful throughout! It can be a stressful time building a house and having to coordinate everything and make sure everything arrives on time and the team at Lusso went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed ready for the first fix (in the middle of a pandemic too!)
As with many self-builds, we ran into a few design challenges which meant we had to make some changes to some of the original designs and had to change some of the bathroom products to fit the revised rooms and the team at Lusso were so accommodating.
For further information on Lusso and our products, get in touch with us today and head over to the Lusso Instagram for more beautiful projects like this one.
