Renovate like Africa Daley-clarke
Once dull, this flat has been transformed into a fabulous home on a budget. africa daley-clarke reveals how she and husband jermel did it
when africa daley-clarke took this apartment, she did so despite cardboard tile flooring, windows that had been painted shut, doors that were too short, skirting that had been cut away and no electricity connection.
Seeing beyond the wreck to the apartment’s potential was just part of the story though – the home was being offered for rent by her local housing authority, and after waiting three years to swap her one-bedroom flat for a two-bedroom one – which meant she and her husband, Jermel, did not have to share their bedroom with their two young girls – Africa was not about to turn this one down. ‘I saw it in my lunch break, showed Jermel what it looked like via a video on my phone, and then snapped it up because I knew we wouldn’t get offered anything else for a very long time,’ says Africa, who is about to have her third child (find her @thevitamindproject). ‘I was the sixth on the list to see it and I didn’t think I stood a chance because usually places are taken by the first people to see them, but everyone else had said no. I can understand that because it was in a terrible condition with so much work needed, and not everyone is able to take that on.’
However, Africa, a showroom designer, and Jermel, a DIY expert (he has a degree in set design), were confident they could turn the first-floor flat in a three-storey Victorian villa into a family home. And despite the neglect, the bones of the flat were good, with high ceilings and plenty of light.
Having got permission in writing to renovate the flat (social housing tends to be more flexible when it comes to home improvements, as leases are longer), they got cracking using the money they had saved up over the previous two years and did the work in just three months.
The transformation, which finished last autumn, is extraordinary; the kitchen and bathroom, in particular, are totally unrecognisable from what went before. It’s all the more remarkable for being done on a budget, with Africa mixing high street with vintage and ebay finds that included buying tiles in job lots. ‘I found a lot of great pieces on ebay,’ she says. She knew just how she
wanted the flat to look. ‘I don’t believe in copying anyone’s style – this flat works because it reflects what we love and how we live; everything functions for our family.’
The look fuses Europe and the Caribbean. ‘My dual heritage played a huge part,’ says Africa. ‘One of my grandmothers is from the Windrush generation but my other is from Yorkshire, and I also love Danish design, so my style is a mix of all these influences.’
Today, the flat is how she hoped it would be when the couple took it on last summer. ‘It’s a joy to come home to,’ she says. ‘We’re all too aware of the negative impact a bad living space can have on your mental health, but a home you love and feel safe in can have a really positive effect. It also means we can parent how we want to – having two children sharing a room with us meant we overcompensated in ways we needn’t have, such as unnecessary gifts that we couldn’t even afford. Having a second bedroom has given us the opportunity to shirk that guilt and focus on parenting in a way that’s true to us. Although it’s a modest flat, today everybody has a space that is purposeful and that they feel happy in.’