'We were after a NEW PROJECT'

Drawn to its size and proximity to the sea, Nareece and Pete snapped up this dated property and turned it into a fun, colourful family home

Being able to walk to the beach is one of the best parts about living here,' says Nareece. 'We'd been looking for a larger home but couldn't afford the next size up in London where we were living at the time - so moving to Folkestone, where we'd be close to the sea and to the children's grandparents, seemed like the obvious solution.

However, in order to get the size of house that we wanted, there were some compromises to be made - namely in the condition of the property. This place had been rented out for 20 years and the previous tenants had adapted some of the downstairs rooms due to mobility issues. We knew the house was going to need a lot of work, but it had some beautiful original features that attracted us, along with a basement and large staircase that were big selling points. Plus, we'd already renovated our previous property, so were ready to get stuck into another project.

Getting started

We got the keys in 2018 and set about making the house a family home. Being so run down forced us to do a lot of work quite quickly to ensure it was habitable and safe for the children, so the first 18 months were pretty busy. All the walls were covered in woodchip and needing replastering, there was a major leak in the main bathroom and the kitchen cabinets were falling off the wall! Doing all the painting ourselves, with three children who at the time were six, four and two, wasn't easy, but I think we did all right! The kitchen was previously three separate rooms (a lean-to, breakfast room and kitchen), but we opened it up into one large space and added bi-fold doors that lead out onto the garden, with new cabinetry from Second Nature. There was also a small cot room upstairs that we turned into an en suite and a large bathroom that we divided up into a single toilet and family bathroom.