Looking around at the peeling plaster, crumbling brick and exposed pipes, I let out a happy sigh. 'I love it,' I grinned to my husband John, then 38. It was September 2016 and we had just picked up the keys to our brand new house in Sheffield.
Beautiful Georgian proportions with stunning period features, it was perfect for our family of five - if you could look past the derelict interior...
We'd renovated a few houses before, but this was our biggest project yet. And, back living with my parents, I was looking forward to getting started. Only, within weeks we found that the whole central heating system needed replacing, a cost we hadn't foreseen, and we still had so much to pay out for. 'There must be some way to do it cheaper,' I said to John.
I'd been buying second-hand clothes for our three daughters, Alexandra, then 12, Thea, eight, and Camille, seven, on eBay for years, but I'd never ventured past the fashion tab. Only now I started looking through the home and interiors section. And, to my surprise, there was so much on offer.
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