‘Our home has so much personality’

After buying a new build and stripping it right back to the bare bones, the Greens had their work cut out to make a blank space warm, welcoming and them

Sally Green describes her home as an ‘ordinary house in an extraordinary location.’ The house was modern, but looked unloved. ‘We needed a bigger house, closer to where we were both working, and this gave us the best of both worlds,’ she says. ‘It was clean and tidy, but needed updating.’

What began as a cosmetic revamp turned into a major renovation as the fixtures and fittings were stripped out, the rough plasterwork was removed and the wall between the kitchen and dining room was removed to create an open-plan family kitchen. The house was replastered, replumbed and fitted with new internal doors, floors and banisters.

It took a year to transform it, but while their new home was dismantled around them, it was business as usual for the Greens. ‘We were sleeping on mattresses on the floor and getting dressed for meetings in the middle of a building site during the worst part of the renovation,’ says Sally. ‘It was quite stressful, but you just have to keep focused.’

‘By the time we got around to the kitchen, it was March and snowing outside. There were props holding up the wall where the bifold doors were going to be fitted and we just had a plastic sheet between us and the elements. That was a bit of a low point!’

Sally’s mood lifted as soon as the new kitchen and bathrooms were finally completed and she could get on with the ‘more pleasurable’ business of decorating and furnishing the house. She did it with a close eye on her budget. ‘I do lots of research to get good prices for the things I like,’ she says. ‘My mum helps out by making curtains and blinds and I make my own cushions and throws. I keep my eyes open in the sales, but I will push the boat out for key pieces.’