It was a short trip for the removal company when we moved four doors down from our two-bedroom terrace into a four-bedroom Victorian villa,' says Kate.
'I first noticed the house when I was walking past it chatting to a friend about it being the only wreck on the street. Luckily for us, one of the students who lived there overheard me and told us it was up for sale. I soon discovered that it had been rented out for 20 years and we arranged an off-market deal with the family of the late owner.
Luke and I had our work cut out for us, as there was damp everywhere, the rear windows were falling out, the garden was just a mound of grass and there was a grimy galley kitchen upstairs in our master bedroom! However, we really loved the street and we wanted a bigger house with a garden so we were happy to take on a project.
Back to basics
We had booked builders to start the day after the move, so the whole house was stripped back to brick, damp-proofed, and re-plastered within eight weeks. They also demolished a huge derelict three-car garage with an asbestos roof. It was great to have the two ground-floor reception rooms finished, along with the cloakroom and utility room.
Upstairs the main job was relocating the bathroom into the neighboring bedroom, the smallest of the four, at the back. As we wanted to fit in a big walk-in shower, a freestanding bath, and a double basin, space was stolen from the landing and the dressing room to make the new bathroom even larger and more luxurious. It was a big job as it required new plumbing and we sourced taps from Italy as the black ones that we wanted were hard to find at the time. We also had to wait six months for a part to arrive for the shower, so we could only have baths for a while.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Style at Home.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Style at Home.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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'We wanted an Art Deco Vibe' - Helen took her bathing space from cramped and dated to family-friendly, with a classic retro-inspired look
Inheriting a typical 1930s layout of rectangular bathroom and a separate loo along the corridor wasn't really suitable for us,' says Helen. 'And with a teenager and a younger child, we knew we had to change things quickly after moving into our house in April 2022.
How to Save More Money -Editor of MoneyWeek.com Kalpana Fitzpatrick shares easy tips and tricks for spending less
Editor of MoneyWeek.com Kalpana Fitzpatrick shares easy tips and tricks for spending less. Recent research shows that around a third of consumers are focused on immediate finances and unable to think about future savings.* If you're struggling to save or just not sure where to start, then these tips and tricks will help.
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