Moving moments

SERIAL MOVERS: Peter and Helen have gradually moved up the ladder to own this stunning barn conversion

“Every client’s wife I ever see says to me, ‘Oh, I would love your job’,” says the 45-year-old. “Everybody sees it as having a cup of tea in a very expensive house and talking interiors.”

Peter’s job, as a director and joint owner of chartered surveyors Bradley Hall, entails a lot more, but there is undoubtedly an element of this in it. With two other partners – Graham Hall and Neil Hart – and offices based in Durham, Newcastle City Centre and Gosforth, the company deals with both residential and commercial properties, specialising in those of high value.

Peter concentrates on the residential side, personally visiting every potential client and using his skills as a chartered surveyor to advise them on selling their homes. He is perfectly suited to the role, with an easy manner and natural charm, and is proud of the fact that Bradley Hall has a 93 per cent success rate in landing prospective sales.

Unlike estate agents, chartered surveyors are required to hold professional qualifications and are governed by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Peter feels this gives his clients confidence.

“Because the partners are all chartered surveyors, we can add a bit of credibility, a bit of weight,” he says.

“We’ve got a house on the market for £6.5m. It’s an awful lot of money in a transaction to leave to an estate agent who may not have dealt with those sums of money.

“I think these clients expect a professional. Everybody really wants to see estate agents having a governing body because they are advising people on selling their biggest asset.”

Peter joined the company straight from Bristol University, becoming a partner in 1996 . “I liked it so much, I bought the company,” he jokes. He moved back to his native North-East, having originally come from Chesterle- Street, and met his wife Helen, then a student at Newcastle University. The couple’s first home was a trendy apartment on Newcastle’s Quayside.

“It was on the top floor with one wall of glass,” Peter recalls. “I bought it when I first moved up from Bristol and I used to rent it out, until I met Helen and she persuaded me to move into it.”

“We had a city lifestyle,” adds Helen, 42, a part-time midwife at the University Hospital of North Durham.

“We started off with just a little flat and, by moving, we have achieved this house.”

If moving is the key to upgrading, then Peter and Helen have this off to a fine art. They have lived in no fewer than eight different homes – including two that were rented in between moves – and with most changes of address, they have also had to contend with four children aged from five to 11.

For most people, this would have been immensely stressful but if Peter and Helen have felt the strain, it doesn’t show. Helen is as relaxed and easy-going as her husband and her striking looks and carefully-chosen outfit belie her role as a working mother.

Peter’s choice of career was hugely influenced by his father. “My father, Arthur Bartley, was an estate agent in Chester-le-Street, so it’s kind of in my blood,” he says. “I was four when he died so I never really knew him but he has always been talked about as this property magnate. He had offices in Chester-le-Street, Durham, Sunderland and Low Fell. It's amazing now, especially in places like Consett and Leadgate, if I deal with an 80 or 90-year-old couple, they seem to know who my father was."

Having access to beautiful homes is a powerful influence on Peter. Many of his own properties have been owned by clients - including the barn conversion in Durham where he currently lives - and there is the constant temptation of somewhere new and alluring. The family's roving lifestyle has led to a minimum of clutter and given Peter and Helen the confidence to make changes.

"When we bought it, this was a very nice house internally, but we have refurbished and re-geared the whole house," says Peter. "We pulled out an Aga and a traditional farmhouse kitchen because we quite like the idea of a contemporary twist. I think we always want to have the kitchen sleek and minimalist, with no handles on the units.

One of the other main things is the big utility room."

Unusually for a barn conversion, the property has not been divided into separate units but remains intact at 6,500 square feet. To prevent it from seeming like a corridor, Peter and Helen have built a glass extension which looks out onto the garden and provides access to the kitchen and living rooms. It is a clever idea, which looks stylish and, most importantly, makes the house work better as a family home.

Upstairs, the children each have their own bedroom, decorated to their taste, and a staircase leads from the master bedroom to the front of the house. The garden is enclosed and there is ample space to play, and there is even a self-contained guest suite, where Helen's family often stays on visits from her native Liverpool.

The house is every inch a modern home - simple, yet stylish.

Helen takes her ideas from magazines, which, Peter jokes, he then rubber stamps. She relies heavily on reliable workmen. "We've got good contractors that we know we can trust," says Helen. "I feel I can ask them for advice."

Helen would be happy to stay at the barn conversion, which is the Bartleys' longest-standing residence, having been their home for two-and-a-half years. Peter, however, has other ideas.

"This is it for me, but it's not for Peter," Helen says unequivocally.

"I love it because it's very private and the children can't get out. It's a great party house and it's within five minutes of my work, Durham City and Peter's office."

Peter agrees that it is a great house, but doesn't deny having itchy feet. "We are serial movers," he admits. "Because I'm in the property game, I'm always saying to Helen, 'this looks nice'. I've seen some absolutely exceptional houses in my time - quirky ones as well. I've sold toilet blocks as well as estates and derelict medieval barns. It's what keeps the job interesting."