From caravan to mansion! Widow wins £4.5M Cornish dream home

‘When I won my £4.5M dream home, I called my kids then opened a bottle of red!: Widowed grandmother’s tears of joy as she scoops luxury Cornish house after spending just £25 to enter Omaze draw

• June Smith, 74, has got the keys to the luxury six-bedroom, three-storey home 
• She teared up as she said the last time she stayed in Cornwall was in a caravan

A widowed grandmother-of-six, who won her dream home after spending £25 to enter the Omaze draw, says the first thing she did was call her children and then open a bottle of red wine after she secured the £4.5million Cornish property. 

June Smith, from Essex, has been given the keys to the luxury six-bedroom, three-storey property overlooking the Fowey Estuary – and has also won £100,000 in cash.

The mother-of-three had tears of joy as she told the Omaze team that the last time she stayed in Cornwall was in a caravan and how her late husband, Ron, who was an architectural designer, would have loved it.

In disbelief, the 74-year-old revealed that she never thought people win jackpot competitions and how she still cannot believe she was fortunate enough to scoop the multi-million pound coastal home.  

The property is said to be the biggest-ever house prize to be given away in a draw in Britain and comes mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered. 

June Smith, 74, has now been given the keys to the luxury six-bedroom property in Cornwall

The property is said to be the biggest ever house prize to be given away in a draw in Britain

(From left to right) June Smith’s son Rory Smith, June Smith herself, her granddaughter Lilian Smith, her daughter Katharine Smith, her granddaughter Nicole Bysouth-Smith, Rory’s fiancé Rebecca Swinn and Rebecca’s mother Barbara Swinn

June Smith celebrates after winning the keys to the £4.5million Cornish waterside mansion

Ms Smith is free to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it. If she decides to rent it, local estate agents estimate it could achieve £5,000 to £7,000 per month from long-term rentals – and up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals.

The grandmother, who stayed with her family in a caravan the last time she went on holiday to Cornwall, won the prize in the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw.

What others have won in Omaze prize draws 

Ian Garrick – November 2020

Britain’s first Omaze winner, policeman Ian Garrick, 58, from Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, won a house in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, which he later sold for £1.1million. It meant he could retire and move to a £500,000 detached house with views of the countryside. 

Catherine Carwardine, April 2022

NHS worker Catherine Carwardine, 60, from Wolverhampton, won a £3million six-bedroom house overlooking Lake Windermere. Beforehand, she and her her husband Chris had been fostering children at their five-bedroom house in Telford, Shropshire, for five years.

Uttam Parmar, August 2022

Operations manager Uttam Parmar, 58, from Leicestershire, won a four-bedroom Cornish house with panoramic views of the Camel Estuary. He and his wife Raki, 53, initially put the house on the market for £4million – but since then they have decided to hang onto the property for now.

She lost her husband of 43 years, Ron, last year when he suffered a heart attack at 74 and has lived in her two-bedroom detached house in Essex for the past 17 years.

She worked as a bookkeeper before she retired to have children while Ron worked as an architectural designer all his life.

Ms Smith, who has three children and six grandchildren, said that Ron would have ‘absolutely loved the design of this house’ and will be ‘looking down with an approving smile’.

She also said that when she was told she had won the grand prize, she could not  believe she had actually won, saying: ‘People like me don’t win things like this.’

Ms Smith said: ‘I was just settling in for a standard Friday night in front of the telly – then the next thing I knew I’d won a mansion, I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I did was call my children, the second was to open a bottle of red!

‘My husband Ron died last year, but I’m sure he played a part in this win – he won it for all of us. Ron always wanted us to be financially secure as a family – and this house gives us that security.

‘He spent his life working with architecture, he’d have absolutely loved this house – it’s a work of art. We used to come for family holidays in Cornwall and stay in a caravan, but now we own a £4.5million mansion – it’s just unbelievable.

‘The house is truly stunning and the views are simply breathtaking, even the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits when we first came here, it was love at first sight.

‘It has its own yoga studio, so maybe I’ll take that up, although my son says it would make a great bar too.

‘I’ve got six beautiful grandchildren and have now got plenty of room for all of them to come and stay – we’re going to have the best summer holiday ever.

‘Having spent some time at the house, I’m definitely going to keep it for a while, whatever I decide to do long term it’s a life changing win for our family.’

Ms Smith has three children – Katherine, Wesley and Rory. Katherine and Rory live in East Anglia with two children each, while Wesley lives on the Gold Coast of Australia with his wife and two children.

Her new house provides spectacular views along the estuary as well as the architecture of nearby Fowey and the surrounding Cornish countryside.

The property, which comes with furnishings included, was designed by the West Country architects Harrison Sutton.

It has a bright and airy entrance hall, with an adjacent home office that provides panoramic estuary views with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides of the room. 

The main sitting room has a double-sided log fire, with a cinema and snug room complete with 85in TV on the other side, that leads out to a west facing patio.

Widowed grandmother-of-six June Smith is free to either live in the house, rent it out or sell it

Local estate agents estimate it could achieve up to £7,000 per month from long-term rentals

The luxury six-bedroom, three-storey property overlooks the Fowey Estuary in Cornwall

The grandmother won the property prize in the latest Omaze Million Pound House Draw

June Smith won the property in what is said to have been the UK’s biggest ever house draw

A kitchen and breakfast room features a central island and glazed sliding doors on two sides that lead out onto a cantilevered balcony. 

In addition to Smallbone units and Sub-Zero appliances, there are two dishwashers, a hot water tap and a Wolf cooker with a Teppanyaki cooker and griddle.

A secondary kitchen pantry sits on the other side of the hallway, next to a dining room.

A cantilevered staircase leads up to the first floor, where a large open landing leads to the main bedroom, which has glazed walls on two sides. 

In addition to a dressing area, there is an en-suite bathroom with a walk in shower.

The £4.5million mansion comes mortgage free, with all stamp duty and legal fees covered

The property could generate up to £14,000 a week from peak season holiday rentals

The main sitting room has a double-sided log fire, with a cinema and snug room

June Smith, pictured with her family, has also won £100,000 in cash in the prize draw

A ground floor bedroom with en-suite bathroom is accessed from the sitting room. The bedroom also has access to the balcony in front of the sitting room. 

A secondary staircase leads from the sitting room to a guest bedroom with en-suite bathroom and access to a shared balcony.

A yoga studio sits at one end of the garden – and at the far end there is a seating area with views down the estuary.

The draw also raised £2.1million for the end-of-life charity Marie Curie.

Ms Smith added: ‘I’m so happy Marie Curie received such a huge amount from the draw. They are an incredible charity and I know first-hand how important the work they do is.’

Her new house provides spectacular views along the estuary as well as the local architecture

The property was designed by the West Country architects Harrison Sutton

June Smith is pictured with her late husband Ron (right), her son Rory and his fiancé Rebecca

Ms Smith lost her husband of 43 years, Ron, last year when he suffered a heart attack at 74

Matthew Reed, chief executive at Marie Curie, said: ‘The money raised could fund around 100 Marie Curie Nurses and Healthcare Assistants to support people with terminal illness. 

‘It would mean nearly 2,000 families receive expert care and emotional support when they need it most.’

Sheryll Murray, local MP for South East Cornwall, said: ‘I am delighted to see the incredible success of the Omaze prize draw for a house in my constituency, which has raised an astonishing £2.1million for Marie Curie.’

James Oakes, chief international officer at Omaze, said: ‘We’re thrilled that June has won her dream home – and was able to contribute towards the fantastic £2,100,000 raised for Marie Curie in the process.’

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