Stuart and I were already living in Shropshire together but we were looking to move to a bigger house as our family was growing,' says Katie. 'We had only been searching for a couple of months before we found this house - we wanted a project and a fixer-upper, and that is how we stumbled across this place. To be honest, it wasn't love at first sight and we initially added this house to our growing pile of "no" properties. It just needed too much work, even for us - or so we thought.
However, we couldn't stop weighing up the pros and cons. We could see that the potential was definitely there, especially once we realised we could reconfigure it and turn it from a three-bedroom house into a five bedroom property, so we decided to take the plunge.
Building a family home
After five long months of waiting, we were handed the keys. And with no time to waste, we started work immediately. The day after we got the keys we were stripping the wallpaper, ripping up carpets and removing gas fires.
However, the challenges were more than cosmetic; the house needed a full heating system installed and had to be rewired, so four weeks after moving in, we moved out again! It was only for a week though, as we had no heating, a one-year-old and I was pregnant again.
Starting point
The first room we tackled was Annie's bedroom. Several layers of wallpaper had to be stripped and walls made good before the panelling and wallpaper could be added. I have to admit we went in all guns blazing and didn't plan properly, so we ended up redecorating this room again recently.
Next on the hit list was to transform the playroom, create a room for the impending arrival of baby Pippa and then we began the double-storey extension - you could say we don't do things by halves!
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2024-Ausgabe von Style at Home.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2024-Ausgabe von Style at Home.
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'We wanted an Art Deco Vibe' - Helen took her bathing space from cramped and dated to family-friendly, with a classic retro-inspired look
Inheriting a typical 1930s layout of rectangular bathroom and a separate loo along the corridor wasn't really suitable for us,' says Helen. 'And with a teenager and a younger child, we knew we had to change things quickly after moving into our house in April 2022.
How to Save More Money -Editor of MoneyWeek.com Kalpana Fitzpatrick shares easy tips and tricks for spending less
Editor of MoneyWeek.com Kalpana Fitzpatrick shares easy tips and tricks for spending less. Recent research shows that around a third of consumers are focused on immediate finances and unable to think about future savings.* If you're struggling to save or just not sure where to start, then these tips and tricks will help.
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