Welcome to my home

“We have a good mix of colours, a blend of old and new furniture, and period features, so I’m happy! ”

THE PROPERTY

A two-bed Victorian terraced cottage in Godalming, Surrey.

THE VALUE

Bought for £325,000 in 2016; now worth £425,000.

Kitt Moss and Jack Noy were renting a flat when a cottage a few doors away came up for sale. ‘The owner had lived in it for 50 years, and it was very dated,’ says Kitt. A survey revealed that the cottage would need extensive renovation, including rebuilding the walls, reinforcing the floor and ceiling joists, and using steel piles to fix subsidence. Undaunted, the couple bought the cottage and decided to reconfigure the interior and extend to the rear as part of the renovation work.

The cottage was stripped back to a bare shell, so the couple continued to live in their rented flat while work was done. They extended to the rear to turn the old galley kitchen and adjoining bathroom into a spacious kitchen-diner, reconfigured the front sitting room into a separate hall and a study by building a wall, and converted the third bedroom upstairs into a bathroom.

Kitt was keen to retain and recycle as many original features as possible. ‘I love old objects and furniture with a bit of history to them,’ she says. ‘We kept the old cast iron fireplaces in what is now the study and in the main bedroom. They’ve lasted this long, so I thought it important to preserve them for a few more years yet!’

When it came to the decor, Kitt found she had more ideas than she could use. ‘You have to sift ideas from as many sources as possible,’ she says. ‘We didn’t rush to do everything at once, but took our time to decide exactly what colours and furniture would create the look we wanted.’ Kitt had to rein in some of her more outlandish ideas, though. ‘I would have used dark colours throughout for a dramatic look – including a dark blue kitchen with gold handles – but Jack prefers a more subtle look, so there had to be a compromise!’