open to change
In order to afford the Surrey home of her dreams, this owner had to make some clever choices
Faced with the need to downsize, Lisa James was keen to stay in the beautiful conservation area that she knew and loved. However, after a seemingly impossible search to find a three-bedroom family home within her budget, she changed her focus entirely. ‘I began looking at two-bedroom properties, which had the potential to create a third,’ she explains. ‘I was also prepared to consider any style, including apartments. That’s how I found our current home.’
Lisa’s ground-floor apartment forms part of a handsome Edwardian villa, reached by a private drive through wooded communal gardens. ‘As I drove up, the exterior looked gorgeous, but I was soon brought down to earth when I walked in the door,’ recalls Lisa. ‘The interior was dreary and soulless. What really shone through, though, were the huge rooms, which offered more square footage than our old house, and the layout, which could be reconfigured into three bedrooms.’
Having purchased the flat, Lisa was able to begin refurbishment while she and her children Taylor and Siena (then 14 and 13), lived in a rental property nearby. ‘Initially, I had an architect draw up some ambitious plans,’ explains Lisa, ‘ but the work he suggested was too expensive. I knew what
i wanted, so i enlisted the help of natalie mchue of nk design who came up with some brilliant, affordable solutions. ‘my priority was to convert what had been the kitchen into a bedroom for my son taylor,’ says Lisa. ‘once the units were ripped out we could see what a great space it was.’
next on Lisa’s wish list was the creation of a kitchen-diner in the existing large dining room. ‘remodelling the layout has given us greater flexibility and a fantastic family room that we now use all the time,’ she says.
original features were revealed when all the carpets were ripped out. ‘Beautiful boards that had been hidden for decades brought the sitting room and kitchen to life,’ says Lisa, ‘i was overjoyed to discover parquet flooring in the master bedroom. ‘i wanted an elegant
look with industrial accents which would add character. So, in the kitchen we exposed the brickwork and housed the electrical cables in metal pipework.’
Injecting an industrial element included using old scaffolding boards, which proved a cost-effective option. ‘In the sitting room, we used the boards to frame the fireplace and took the timber right up to the coving,’ says Lisa. ‘Finishing them in a dark grey wash gave an aged appearance and really made a feature of the chimney breast.’
Upgrading the family bathroom and en suite in a traditional style sympathetic to the period of the house was a must. ‘I love how they both look, but in hindsight I wish we’d put in underfloor heating,’ admits Lisa.
The once bland, magnolia apartment has been transformed into a stylish and welcoming family space thanks to a clever mix of materials, paints and furnishings. ‘When the renovation was complete, I missed our builders when they left, which is not something everyone would say,’ smiles Lisa. ‘As a team, we worked so well together – I had ideas and they came up with the design solutions. This home makes me feel complete. I never dreamt that we could be so happy living in an apartment, but even if I won the lottery I wouldn’t live anywhere else.’