The great escape
This cottage in Kirkbymoorside has been renovated and dressed with holidays in mind. Sharon Dale reports. Pictures by Gary Longbottom.
Aseasoned property renovator and professional gardener, Lizzie Butterfield is used to mucking in and getting her hands dirty. So, when she bought a cottage in need of modernisation, she thought nothing of knocking down walls and ripping out kitchens.
The reward for her bold approach is a “grown-up dolls house” that is perennially perfect. The historic property is now a holiday let and its job is to look gorgeous and spotless, unlike a real, everyday family home where there is clutter, mess and a never-ending list of DIY jobs.
“I call this my escape. I can keep it lovely and put flowers out whereas my house is mayhem. We have two 11-year-old boys and dogs and so it’s impossible to keep tidy,” says Lizzie, who works part-time for the National Trust as a gardener at Nunnington Hall.
She originally bought the cottage as a main home but after marrying and moving to a nearby village with her husband, David, she couldn’t bear to part with the property.
“I loved it and I couldn’t bear to sell it or to let it on a regular tenancy so I decided to turn it into a holiday let. I’m pleased I did. It’s enjoyable even though I have to make sure it stays immaculate.”
While the house looks beautiful now, it was a different story when she first bought it. It was dated and damp when she got the keys three years ago and her first job was to plan a new layout that would maximise space and allow more natural light into the rooms.
“I’ve done about six renovations. I just love old houses and I enjoy bringing them back to life. It’s in the blood. My dad was a builder,” says Lizzie. “Knocking walls down doesn’t scare me at all and I like to gut a place and start again so I can make sure everything is right”
Removing the staircase that had been put in a box room to create access to the loft was top of her “to do” list.
She replaced it with a retractable ladder and turned the box room into a reading room. Walls and doors were moved to make more useable spaces in the bedrooms and the bathroom was completely refitted.
Downstairs, the archway in the hallway was removed and a cupboard created under the stairs. Knocking down a strangely-placed false wall in the dining room revealed the waste pipe from the toilet and it was leaking.
“Finding the pipe was a shock but it turned out well because we moved it and the wall was hiding a gap, which was perfect for the dining table,” she says.
The kitchen was the biggest challenge. She designed in a utility