‘The house had so much POTENTIAL'

Rachel’s home was a poorly configured, dilapidated shell. Fortunately she had the creativity and courage to give it a glorious overhaul

- IFEOLUWA ADEDEJI

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Rachel Black, 31, a nurse (@thegirlwiththepantryladder) and seller on Etsy (Vinnyandflo). I live here with my husband Gareth, 33, a crisis consultant, and our daughter Beitidh, 22 months.

OUR HOME Built in the 1700s, it’s a two-bed detached barn in Hexham. We bought it in December 2016.

WHEN WE MOVED IN Parts of the house were not habitable. We had no heating, so the challenge was to get the house water and wind-tight and warm as soon as possible.

AND NOW We’ve made the space much more efficient by having the bedrooms and bathroom in one area and the living space in another. It’s perfect for entertaining now.

STYLE TIP Don’t rush in. Live in the place and get a feel for it, especially in an old house, with original features.

We'd been living in Newcastle before deciding to move to Hexham in search of a renovation project, as Gareth had just got a job in Carlisle and wanted a faster commute,’ says Rachel. ‘We initially searched online for three-bedroom properties and had no luck. But when we changed our criteria to one-bed, that’s when we found this place. We knew there was potential to create more bedrooms because of the various lean-to extensions that looked exploitable.

The house was a blank canvas which hadn’t been lived in for more than 10 years. The main living room was very dark and I knew that knocking through to bring in more light was key to our renovation.

Cautious planning