For, alongside the new kitchen and bathrooms, double glazing and redecoration throughout was a far sighted, yet stylish, addition to their magically restored detached home – that of a personal home lift.

Discreet yes – it nestles in the downstairs study and rises straight into the corner of their first-floor master bedroom, right by their bed. During the day, the lift is ‘parked’ upstairs, taking up very little space with its footprint of just 0.82 metres.

Elegant, too, as their online research resulted in them being one of the first families in Britain to install the new Lifton Home Lift. The beautiful curves of this domestic lift are styled in Germany and engineered in soft, warm grey aluminium, with a matching, half-glazed lift car fitted with soothing blue LED lighting for evening use.

An innovative design concept makes use of two slim aluminium ‘stilts’ which span ground floor to first floor ceiling and taking all the loadbearing, doing away with the need for a conventional lift shaft. Powered simply with a single 13 amp plug connection to their domestic electricity supply, the quiet electric motor is discreetly hidden on top of the lift.

“We may not use it much at present, but as this is definitely our last house, we wanted to be forward looking and avoid any potential household disruption should any future health issues arise,” said Tony, a still-practising chartered accountant. “We know of people who have suffered strokes and are now having to live downstairs – if we had not invested in our Lifton ‘future-proofing’ lift, we would have considered buying a bungalow.

“Our architects and builders were astonished at the engineering absence of hydraulics and the relatively simple installation process with a small ceiling aperture – yes, some existing pipes and cables had to be slightly rerouted, but the manufacturers and installers, Stiltz Lifts, took care of all of that for us, and it was included in the overall purchase price

“What won us over to Lifton domestic lifts, however, was its beautiful, compact design – light years away from both those unsightly stairlifts and the bulky, square and claustrophobic lifts you sometimes find in shopping centres or offices. It is also multi-tasks, as when we go on holiday, the luggage starts and finishes its journey at home in our lift. Although the lift is not on immediate display to visitors, it is a definite feature, and we find friends are fascinated with its elegant simplicity, and all want a ride in it!

“We are now very content, not only with our retirement house relocation, but also its newly installed facilities which include our Lifton Home Lift – it provides both us, and our family, total peace of mind, and gives us our own independence going forward, which is something we all value.”

If you would like to find out more about Lifton Home Lifts, please visit ring 0808 250 4739. Installation only takes a few days, and the lift comes with a two year warranty and Stiltz Lifts offer a low cost annual maintenance plan.