Our Home Has An Eclectic Look

Lucy, 37, spent a year renovating this 150 year-old farm cottage before giving it a quirky, modern edge.

- Amy Hodge

When my husband Owen and I had our triplets, Joe, Grace and Elsie, it became more urgent to find somewhere to accommodate our growing family,’ says Lucy. ‘We fell in love with this house because it was located on the farm where Owen grew up and where he now runs his fishing lakes and tackle business. We wanted somewhere we could put down roots and, despite the state of the cottage, we’d received planning permission to totally renovate it to make it work for our family.

The first thing we had to do was completely gut the house and take it back to its bare bones. After that, we were able to build a double-storey extension to the side and back of the original building, which made it twice as big. New windows were fitted and, to make the house more energy efficient, we installed a ground source heat pump, which supplies all the heat to our underfloor heating and hot water. There are also two logburners, which keep the place warm in the winter.

It was a bit of a juggle trying to manage everything, especially with three young children in tow, but we were lucky to have a very good builder, and my father-in-law did a huge amount to help us, too.

On New Year’s Eve 2010, after there had been two heavy snowfalls, I moved into the house with the children while Owen was out at the rugby. He’d worked so hard that I wanted to surprise him and to start the New Year afresh in our new home.

Brand-new start