The perfect, remedy

One resourceful couple have transformed an old farmhouse that once served as a Victorian isolation hospital with stunning results

- Alison Wall

Moving out of London for a more rural lifestyle is a rite of passage for many young families. For Emily and Aaron Radford, the move became a two-year passion project. Quitting their jobs within a day of each other, the couple purchased a period farmhouse with outbuildings on the Staffordshire/Shropshire borders that had previously seen service as an isolation hospital and then two council houses, and most recently, two privately owned homes.

Some serious renovation was needed - and loads of hard work and ingenuity. The pair bought the building just before the first Covid lockdown, with construction teams and architects abruptly furloughed and facing supply problems, price hikes and their chosen builders going into liquidation.

But Aaron, an accountant, and Emily, a fashion designer, were ready for the challenge. "Luckily, I am very determined and always err on the side of optimism," says Emily. "We came into this with our eyes wide open: we'd had a full structural survey so we knew we had collapsed drains, water leaks, plus mould and damp at the front of the house. And as it had been two homes, we also had two of everything: two gas boilers, two kitchens, and so on. We also knew we had asbestos, rotten joists in parts, woodworm and a hole in the roof. Fortunately, a builder friend reassured us the building was perfectly sound."

BACK TO BRICKWORK

Before the builders came to site, the pair spent three months stripping the building back to bare bricks and removing blown plaster. "We took out endless carpeting, layers of old lino flooring, polystyrene ceiling tiles, Anaglypta wallpaper, 1970s chipboard, uncharacteristic fireplaces and surrounds and the ubiquitous built-in furniture," says Emily. "I've never worked so physically hard in my life."