Fun forever home: 'This place is perfect for a kitchen disco!'

By reconfiguring the layout on both floors, Mary Howe has turned her 1930s home into a party house, where the spaces finally flow together seamlessly

-  Karen Wilson

It was a short trip for the removal van when Mary and Nick Howe sold their small semi in Redcar to buy a larger house on the same road. 'My husband wanted a detached house that we could rip apart and do from scratch ourselves,' says Mary. 'But we loved the area, so didn't want to move far.'

Although it was 12 years ago, Mary remembers the viewing well. It was freezing and I noticed the curtains were blowing on the inside, as the wind was coming through the windows,' she says. "The walls were covered with lining paper and there were Artex ceilings everywhere, but it had a lovely feel.' 

While Mary was heavily pregnant with their first son, Fyfe, the couple lived amid the chaos of a major renovation. As well as a new roof, windows and central heating, the house was re-plastered throughout and given a new kitchen and bathroom. However, after living in the house for eight years, the pair had become frustrated with the layout.

'Originally, we thought the shape of the house was unique, but once we'd had a baby we realised we wanted practical, not quirky,' says Mary. 'When I was cooking in the kitchen and the kids were in the living room, I was constantly running between the two and the space didn't really work.'

MAXIMISING SPACE

After looking at other properties in the area and realising that nothing met their needs, the couple decided to remortgage and knock together the galley kitchen and dining room.

A flat-roofed sun room was also knocked down and incorporated into the new openplan space, which extends a metre beyond the existing foundations. 'A metre doesn't sound a lot, but the builder said it would make a big difference and it really has,' says Mary.