A learning experience

Steph and James honed their home-improvement skills as they updated their old house and overgrown garden with help from family and friends -

BEFORE  

Having family and friends who are both handy at DIY and willing to pitch in can be an invaluable resource to home renovators determined to do as much as they can themselves.

That was certainly the case for Steph and her partner, James, when it came to transforming the large sloping garden of the three-bedroom detached that they bought in 2019.

‘We levelled the top of the garden and built the big decking area,’’ Steph reveals. ‘At one point we had six or seven friends and family helping us, so it was a real community project. As a thank you, we’ve agreed to host all future garden parties!’

Steph and James bought the house as it was the perfect project for them to develop their renovating skills on, having previously lived in a new-build flat. ‘We wanted somewhere we could put our own stamp on, and do a lot of the work ourselves without it being overwhelming – we didn’t want to do too much building work or have an extension,’ says Steph.

The house, which was built around 1925, ticked all their boxes. Although ‘the whole place needed gutting and renewing’, it was a challenge they felt they could handle. ‘We had a few nonnegotiables,’ says Steph. ‘We wanted it to have a bit of character, which it does with the bay window and original parquet on the ground floor – which inspired our Instagram name @walkintheparquet.’

Although she and James had never tackled a renovation of their own before, they were both inspired by their parents, who were keen doer uppers of homes when they were growing up, and were always on the end of a phone to offer advice when the couple needed it.