‘We're dotty for MONOCHROME!'

Their Victorian dream needed plenty of work, but room by room, Laura and her husband Mitchell have brought this period property back to life

- LAURA EWART

COME ON IN!

ABOUT ME I’m Laura Tamcken, 36, a banking associate. I live with my husband Mitchell, 28, who works in e-commerce, plus our two cats, Hiro and Ron.

OUR HOME A three-bed Victorian terrace in Shoeburyness, Essex. We moved here in September 2017.

WHEN WE MOVED IN The house had been left empty for nine months and had an overgrown garden, nicotine-stained walls and damp that needed sorting straight away.

AND NOW We have fully replaced the mouldy bathroom, fitted a brand-new kitchen, replastered, painted and decorated all the rooms. Next stop – the garden.

STYLE TIP Shop your home! We created our own individual style with hand-painted walls by using paint we already had in our home.

Our previous home was a lovely new build in the countryside but our commutes were more than two hours each,’ says Laura. ‘It made sense to move closer to work, we just needed to find the right house. We had viewed around five properties when I saw this come up online – it was just down the road from Mitch’s work and is a stone’s throw from the beach. The only photo was of the front of the house but I loved it. As soon as we walked in, we knew it was the one for us. Both of our parents came to view it and thought we were crazy to take on such a huge project!

First things first