One small step

Adding an extension and reconfiguring their layout gave Louise Potter and husband Sean a house that works for them -for a budget of just £35K

- Laurie Davidson

HOMEOWNERS Louise and Sean Potter, with their daughter Martha

LOCATION Liverpool

PROJECT Side return extension to period terrace house

BUILD ROUTE Main contractor

CONSTRUCTION Off-the-shelf conservatory

BUILD TIME Two years

BUILD COST £35,000

VALUE Undisclosed

People say that you just know when a house is the right one for you as soon as you walk in - and that was definitely the case for Louise Potter when she went to view her Victorian four-bedroom property. Moving from Tunbridge Wells in Kent to live with her now husband, Sean, in Liverpool, Louise was instantly drawn to the house's period features, such as the stained-glass doors and windows, along with some of the original fireplaces. The previous owners had purchased the house from a lady who had lived there since the 1920s and, luckily for Louise and Sean, had gone on to renovate it, which meant most of the hard work had been done for them.

BETTER CONNECTED

Adding a conservatory extension to the back of the house means that the kitchen is far more social and connected to the dining area, which suits the family much more.

"It wasn't to my taste but it did mean that we didn't have to spend our first few years in Liverpool doing DIY at the weekends," says Louise. "And on the plus side, all the difficult jobs, like replastering, sanding floors and stripping doors, had already been finished."