THE Wisteria is a big step forward for Atlas in the twin unit stakes and demonstrates that the company’s design team has really got itself up to speed in a relatively short time. This is clear not so much from the stylish interior – the company’s caravan holiday homes are pretty good, after all – but the exterior, too.

Atlas has not simply produced a 43ft x 20ft wooden box with a luxury lining – real thought has gone into a profile that is interesting and attractive in itself. There’s a suspended box bay (with pitched-rood-style top), and French doors at the front end, with half-moon window above the latter. The front side elevation has two insets, one for the porch and main door and the other, running about a third of the length to the front corner, featuring another suspended box bay that aligns with the full width plane and reaches right up to the roof overhang.

Next to, but not above the porch is a pitched dormer, below which is a flush-fitted window topped by another half-moon window feature. With the lovely timber cladding, it makes for a very distinguished-looking home – and as it can be built to either 1647 or 3632 standards, it can be used as either a leisure or, on the right park, a residential unit.

Unusual utility

The front door leads you into a reasonably sized hall, carpeted (the brown carpet continues through most of the home), with textured wall covering, ceiling spots and an attractive, thermostatically-controlled, contemporary-style bar radiator. Through a door to the right in the two-bed show home (a three bed version is also available) is an excellent, but rather unusual, utility room plus WC, with sink, three-course tiling, cupboard and drawer, Baumatic washer/dryer and loo.

Light lounge

The lounge is an excellent, airy space, well lit by two large bay box windows (one to the front, one to the side), two substantial flush-fitting windows on the side wall either side of the feature fireplace, the French doors on the end wall, plus two Velux windows in the vaulted ceiling. For after dark there’s a five-lamp pendant, a floor-mounted standard lamp and two table-top standard lamps.

Furniture includes a comfortable, large, two-cushion fabric weave sofa and two matching, chunky armchairs, a couple of side tables and a matching low, four-drawer cabinet with small glass-fronted cupboard in the centre. There’s no TV as standard, but connections are provided for either a wall-mounted flat screen above the fire or free-standing unit in the corner beside the fireplace, for which a glass and chrome table is provided.

The driftwood effect electric fire is in a stainless steel frame with a large surround and mantelpiece space.

The lined drapes were a nice dark and gold pattern on steel poles. But the best point in the lounge for me was the dark laminate flooring – a relief from fitted carpets and great for chunky rugs.

Classy kitchen

To the left from the entrance hall is a door with two smoked/clear glass patterned panels. This leads into the kitchen part of the open-plan living area, with a raised dining area to the right and the lounge ahead, spanning the width of the front of the home. There’s a double vaulted ceiling above the kitchen, as it is set beneath the dormer in the roof.

In its own compartment to the right of the door is a US-style fridge/freezer with ice-maker/water-cooler and, above it, a 16-bottle, built-in wine rack. The U-shaped kitchen to the left of the door features dark, granite-style worktops and dark marble tile-effect vinyl flooring. There’s a three-drawer floor unit, followed by a seven-burner range-style cooker with two ovens, grill and warmer and glass and stainless steel extractor hood. I’m not sure that’s really necessary for a home of this type and this size, but it looks impressive!

Wall-mounted, glass-doored cabinets occupy the corners either side of the window on the outside wall (the one with the half-moon panel above). Below the window is the stainless steel 11/2 sink and there are cupboards below, plus an integrated Baumatic dishwasher. The third arm of the U acts as a partition between kitchen and lounge (and could be used as a breakfast bar, though there’s no overhang for knees) and has a set of three drawers and a cupboard. Neither corner cupboard, unfortunately, has a carousel or other gadget for easy access.

Hall of mirrors

The entrance hall turns to the right, leading to the bedrooms. The master is first on the left, and very nice it is, too – though you might feel a little self-conscious if you’re not keen on mirrors!

The large double bed has a padded headboard with, above it, a large, wedge-shaped mirror and, either side, bedside cabinets and tall, narrow cupboards to which contemporary-style, adjustable reading lamps have been attached.

Because the room takes up half the home’s width, and the ceilings are vaulted throughout, there’s lots of upper space on the partition wall, and Atlas have fitted two beautiful smoked glass and curved-steel lights. At the foot of the bed is a wardrobe with two sliding mirrored doors and, in the corner between the door and the entrance to the en suite, is a vanity unit with two four-drawer pedestals, a drawer across the knee-hole, a shelving unit (with glass shelves) to the side, another large mirror on the wall and an upholstered stool. There’s a spotlight above.

The en suite is roomy, with a quad shower, ladder towel-dryer/radiator, glass shelves, large mirror-doored cabinet, plus a bath with yet another large mirror on the wall above its full length. It’s fully tiled in the shower cubicle and half tiled elsewhere, with a mosaic-style frieze, and flooring is stone-effect vinyl.

Well appointed

The entrance to the second bedroom is at the end of the hall. It was fitted with twin beds in the show home, though there is room for a double, with two bedside cabinets and two narrow cupboards and wood panelling behind the beds with one overbed shelf connecting the cupboards. There is a mirror, but, in this case, only above the level of the shelf!

At the foot of the beds is a single-drawer vanity unit flanked by two wardrobes, with a mirror behind and a stool. A circular light is set beneath a shelf above the mirror that spans the area between the wardrobes. Again, there are lights like those in the master on the partition wall.

The best feature for a second bedroom is the en suite, this time with shower only, but otherwise similarly well appointed to that in the master.

High dining

A step up from the kitchen and you are on the carpeted dining area, complete with glass /and stainless steel balustrade to stop you falling into the lounge, glass and stainless steel dining table and four cream upholstered and steel designer dining chairs. Six could be fitted at a pinch around the rectangular table in the home I saw, but you’d want a bigger dining set if you entertained regularly – there is space enough.

Behind the table is an excellent cabinet unit with drawers and cupboards below, glass-doored cabinets either side and glass shelves with a mirror behind in
the middle.

The area is lit in daytime by a fairly large window (and all the other substantial windows in the living area) and at night by a three-lamp pendant. There’s a radiator below the window, and substantial drapes on a steel pole.

Our verdict

The cons of the Wisteria for me were perhaps a lack of storage in the bedrooms and too many mirrors – after all, at a certain age, only magic mirrors are desirable!

Otherwise the Wisteria is a real winner – great to look at on the outside and welcoming on the inside, well-built and thoughtfully designed, well-equipped and tastefully furnished. It has a sufficiency of the necessaries, like power points, energy-efficient lights and radiators, and stylish modern touches without relentless trendiness. The colour scheme, drapes and linen were fine in the show home, but you could doubtless change them if you wished.

The Wisteria’s overall feel does not compartmentalise it as a holiday lodge – it could genuinely pass for a residential model and, if you chose the BS3632 version, could be used as such. It’s a model I would take seriously in either category.


















Technical details
• Type: Twin unit lodge-style home
• Standard: either BS EN1647 for leisure use only or BS3632 residential
• Size: 43ft x 20ft
• Bedrooms: 2 (both en suite)

Other versions
• 43ft x 20ft three-bedroom  – though the full layout has not been finalised yet.

Main features
• Timber cladding
• French doors to front
• Open plan living area
• Raised dining area with glass balustrades
• Integrated dishwasher and washer/dryer as standard
• Us-style fridge freezer as standard
• Two en suite double bedrooms
• Separate WC/utility room
• Vaulted ceilings throughout, with double vaulting over kitchen
• Two velux windows to lounge
• Painted tongue and groove ceilings

Room sizes
Please note: all dimensions are approximate only. Lounge 18ft 3 in x 12ft 4in
• Dining room 9ft x 9ft 4in
• Kitchen 9ft 6in x 9ft 6in
• Utility/WC 5ft x 6ft 6in
• Bedroom 1 10ft 3in x 9ft 6in + 4ft 3in x 2ft 3in
• En suite 5ft 6 in x 9ft 6in
• Bedroom 2 10ft 9in x 9ft 6in
• En suite 3ft 6in x 7ft 3in

Price
£104,915 ex works (inc VAT)

CONTACT

Atlas Holiday Homes, Wiltshire Road, Hull, East Yorkshire HU4 6PD. Tel: 01482 562101. Email: info@atlas caravans.co.uk. Website: www.atlas-caravans.co.uk


This park review was published in the October 2008 issue of Park & Holiday Homes magazine. To order our latest issue please click here.


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