Changing ROOMS

Re-jigging the layout of her modest-sized bathroom allowed Jane Fitzpatrick to fit in both a bath and a walk-in shower

- LUCY SEARLE, ESME CLEMO

We moved to Spalding in Lincolnshire because my husband James and two sons all play rugby here and we were spending so much time travelling from our former home an hour away,’ says Jane. ‘Our old house was our self-built dream property, which we had designed ourselves, so finding a new home was always going to be difficult.

Working it out

When we saw this house – a converted farmhouse built in the 1800s – we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was character-filled, with original features and so much future potential that we simply couldn’t miss the opportunity.

We agreed to live in it for a year without doing anything other than painting and decor, so that we could get a feel for how we would use it as a family. However, the rooms we weren’t able to live with were the horribly dated and poorly designed bathrooms, where space was simply not maximised. Having three large males in the house, this was a top priority.

The main bathroom included a bath but no shower and, while there was a tiny shower room across the landing, the morning routine was a nightmare with all four of us trying to get in there.