A homemade home

A newly married couple with a baby on the way used their DIY and bargain hunting skills to transform a tired 1950s house in Abbots Langley

- Natalie Flaum

Our previous house was a two-up-two-down that we did up ourselves with absolutely no prior experience,’ says Alex Reid. ‘Although the location was beautiful, in a tiny Buckinghamshire village, it was remote, and I learnt that the convenience of being near shops and towns is really important to me.’

Six months after Alex and her husband Sam were married, they were ready to start their next property challenge. One day into their home search, they found a 1950s three-bed semi in Abbots Langley for sale and, even though it hadn’t been updated in over a decade, were excited by its potential. Then, when Alex found out she was pregnant, all of a sudden the couple had a deadline to work to.

‘We wanted the majority of work finished by the time the baby arrived,’ explains Alex. ‘While I was on maternity leave, I began an interiors blog (@reid. renovation.house) so that I could chart our renovation progress and inspire others with ideas for their own homes. However, I wouldn’t recommend living on a renovation site when you have a strong urge to start nesting!’

The couple planned an extension for a new kitchen and open-plan snug, and converted the existing kitchen into a utility room, transforming the old pantry into a downstairs loo. Upstairs, they also knocked through the adjoining bathroom and separate WC wall in favour of having a larger family bathroom with space for a walk-in shower.

‘We lived upstairs for nine months, using our spare bedroom as a temporary living room and progressed to spending many nights dining on a picnic table in a dusty, half-finished downstairs!’ says Alex. ‘Luckily, as Sam is a skilled carpenter, he managed 95 per cent of the work himself in his spare time.’