Home truths THE PROPERTY LOCATION ROOMS
When Grace Gordon and Matthew Turner began looking to buy their first home, they were certain about where they wanted to live. ‘We were renting and working in London and wanted to buy a house there,’ says Grace. ‘We found several properties but, one by one, we were let down by owners or landlords and, 12 months later, we were still no closer.’
As house prices had risen so much in that year, the couple could no longer afford a house in the capital. ‘After researching areas within an hour’s commute of London, we visited a small town in East Sussex and were won over by its charm,’ says Grace.
The house they viewed there ticked all their boxes and, after the viewing, the couple decided the two-bedroom Victorian terrace was the perfect starter home. ‘It was small enough to renovate within our budget but big enough to feel like a step up from our flat,’ says Grace. With their offer accepted, they moved in three months later.
The elderly couple who had previously lived in the house had not updated it for quite a long time, so Grace and Matthew replaced the pipework and electrics, and damp-proofed the walls. ‘We also removed a gas fireplace, stripping back to the original brickwork,’ says Grace. Maximising space and light was a priority, but structurally there were limits to what could be done to the Grade Ii-listed building. ‘The internal character had to remain essentially the same, however we were allowed to replace
DESIGN ADVICE ‘To create the illusion of space in a small home, try to keep any bulky or dark items below eye level’