Lissett unveils the Échappé, a park home of immense style and stunning, ultra-modern character to truly inspire you to ‘Escape’ into a new lifestyle.

The latest creation from Lissett Homes brings to the market a new, high-end home of breathtaking style in a stunningly simple colour palette of greys and white.

It’s a head-turning creation, packed with luxuries – and with a name that precisely conjures thoughts of a new lifestyle, perfectly in line with a reason many people buy a park home: Échappé translates from French as “escape” – and it’s a name that also conveys a touch of classic elegance; Échappé is a term for a classical ballet move meaning “escaping.”

Lissett unveiled the Échappé at Warners’ (the publishers of this magazine) own National Park and Holiday Homes Show at Newbury, just before this issue went to press.

The photos you see on our website were taken hours after the Échappé was finally built, on the showground ( given it had to be transported there in two halves, prior to final construction). The text, though, was written a little earlier, during my privileged first-look at the Échappé, as it was rolled out of the factory.

The unit had been wheeled out of the end of the production line on the morning of my visit. Still, in two halves, I climbed inside via steps, to a home without carpets, without lounge and dining furniture, without any of the finishing touches that now make this top-quality home a real head-turner.

But it did have enough of its fitted furniture in place for me to take a close look at the quality. And by the time I saw it at Newbury, the Échappé had taken on its full glory.

Exterior

White, pale grey and anthracite shades combine to create an ultra-modern, imposing exterior. The main colour is white, utterly stunning, gleaming even in the subdued sunlight of the day of my visit to the Lissett factory at Pocklington in Yorkshire.

UPVC white planking-style soffits, and fascias in anthracite shade match the window frames. There are two external lights –and an external power source from which an electric car can be charged!

Hallway

The main door is wider than average (one metre) and the hallway has an airy feel. A large cloakroom takes care of entrance practicalities; there’s plenty of space for shoes, too. And there’s a second, smaller storage cupboard off the hallway.

Dining room and lounge

Lighting is set into the white plank ceiling. All walls are a subtle shade of white. The dining area has a floor-to-ceiling window and both areas have Arbotherm designer tall feature radiators (the heating system is a combi-boiler). A grey-edged part-wall distinguishes the dining room from the lounge; it’s designed so that owners can have doors installed here if they wish.

Bay windows are on one side of this light and airy room, the whole front elevation is windows, and French doors are on the other side.

The Échappé is displayed with a wall-mounted Samsung 55-inch smart television, with cabinets beneath. A Nuvo sound system is installed, capable of streaming, with connectivity to other input devices.

The deep-pile carpet is in a shade called ‘Greyhound’. Italian designer dining and occasional tables and a sumptuous lounge suite complete the luxurious, high-quality look.
Curtains are hessian-inspired, in plain cream, with simple tie backs that have exquisite, fine detail incorporating minute sparkly studs.

The light-coloured walls and huge windows make this an exceptionally light and bright living space.

Kitchen

The kitchen is truly awesome for its styling and the level of equipment. It has two ovens, one fan-assisted (electric) and the second is a combi microwave oven (which browns the food as well as cooks it).

Underneath the microwave is a warming drawer. These ovens are side-by-side – and they’re inset into the wall. Cabinets are above and drawers beneath, with soft-close hinges and drawer runners. The effect of the inset design is to make the kitchen look even larger than it is.
There’s an island unit with two stools on one side (making a breakfast bar area) and three large drawers on the other.

Units are matt grey with white tops. Grey high-gloss tiles, with a ripple-effect surface, are aligned horizontally, again enhancing the spacious look.

The bay window makes you feel this isn’t a park home kitchen; it’s high-end domestic and with light flooding in not just from this large window but from a Velux opening roof window – which has a remote control for both the opening function and its blind.

And the most impressive bit? It has a rain sensor; when rain begins, the window closes automatically.

All the appliances are Bosch. The gas hob has five burners. There’s a 60cm (full sized) dishwasher and a 50-50 fridge-freezer.

The amount and design of kitchen storage is phenomenal. Four of the large drawers contain high quality, grey plastic, size-adjustable storage units for plates or pans. A carousel metal shelving unit inside a double-hinged door makes the best use of space in a corner cabinet. There are six power points.

Utility room

The utility room contains a Bosch condensing washer-drier, the combi boiler and many cabinets. The flooring is called Aqua-step; it’s designed for easy cleaning and durability – and it looks smart, too, adhering to the grey theme.

I was later discovered the same flooring in the bathroom and en suite shower room, as my tour of the Échappé unfolded.

Master bedroom

The grey and white theme that characterises the exterior of the Échappé continues inside – and in the bedrooms there is a feature which is spectacular; headboards, ultra-deeply upholstered in a square formation, in dark grey.

It’s a room of style and design character. That’s largely due to the delightful and distinctive fine spider’s web-inspired swirl pattern of the curtains, and to the window arrangement; there’s a window above the bed head, which brings a lovely extra-light dimension to the room.

The dressing table, occupying the whole of one wall, has a big mirror above it; TV points are here. Lots of drawers and a generously-sized wardrobe ensure tidiness is easy.

David Bowman, Sales Director, guiding me around the Échappé and keen to make sure I noticed every feature in every room, pointed out the depth of the mattress – it’s about 30cm deep, deeper than the vast majority of domestic mattresses. And it’s 3000 pocket sprung – which basically means it’s one of the most comfortable mattresses on the market.

Second bedroom

The second bedroom shares the luxuriant deep upholstered headboard feature with the main bedroom.

This room has pale grey wardrobe doors, and pale grey curtains with a subtle pink angular design, hanging from simple, chunky steel poles and held in place by rope-effect ties. The carpet is pale grey. A suite of cabinets, in pale grey-fawn woodwork, curves around a corner from one side of the bed; there’s a cabinet on the other side of the bed, too; together this amounts to a lot of storage capacity.

I comment to David Bowman that the edges of all the woodwork are exceptionally refined and smooth and he explains every piece is fitted with 2mm-thick lipping:  “We have a special machine to attach it to every edge of every cabinet and drawer.” A total of six power points are in this room.

Carpeting here in the bedrooms, as everywhere else in the Échappé, is a heavy-duty grade; 80% wool and 20% polyester.

Every aspect of the Échappé is top grade and that includes the furniture. And it’s all full-sized, just as you’d have in a house.

Study

Two things impress me about the study. One is the quantity of shelving, drawers and cabinets. The other is that, because of the amount of cabinetry in this room, it is here that the finesse of the lipping edging to all units is most noticeable. All the furniture in the Échappé is made of 36mm woodwork.

There’s an L-shaped desk, a complexity of drawers and cabinets creating masses of storage space. And, above it all, shelving lines two walls – complete with concealed lighting. It’s a brilliantly designed workspace.

Bathrooms

A tall radiator/towel warmer of the style also in the lounge is here, this time in matt grey. There’s a P-shaped bath with a shower above. Large tiles are in gloss fawn. There’s an airing cupboard – another example of every inch of available space being devoted to storage. A large washbasin sits up above its cabinet. LED lighting is above the mirror.

The en suite shower room also has a basin mounted on top of its cabinet. There’s a towel warmer here, and the huge (140cm x 90cm) shower has both a hand-held rose and a deluge shower.

Loft access

Not many park homes have loft access – but this one has; it’s in the corridor just outside the main bathroom; another pointer to the exceptional amount of storage in the Échappé.

Our View

The Échappé’s stunning grey-hues inside and out are distinctive and ultra modern. Its exceptionally high standard of furnishings and equipment positions it truly in the top drawer of park homes.

And, in the unlikely event of you not sharing our view about the beautiful grey and white scheme, Lissett enables you to choose from an array of colours and styles for fittings and furniture.

The awesome Échappé is surely a creation that’s perfectly in line with the title of this magazine – an inspirational home!