two become one

Ingrid and Dave Goode found a way to make the old and newer parts of their 18th-century stone cottage flow seamlessly together

Reworking the layout and updating the decor has brought this Lincolnshire cottage back to life

After five years living in a two-bedroom Victorian terraced house next to the village pub in Castle Bytham, Lincolnshire, Ingrid and Dave Goode’s second bedroom was bursting at the seams. ‘I’m a freelance textile designer, so it doubled up as a studio and a guest bedroom, which wasn’t ideal,’ says Ingrid.

Although the couple weren’t looking to move, Ingrid had noticed a For Sale board outside their neighbour’s four-bedroom cottage for some time. ‘On the spur of the moment I knocked on the door,’ she admits. ‘There was a 1980s kitchen, blood-red walls in the sitting room and poor lighting, but I could see its potential.’

The small garden was putting families off, but the couple knew they didn’t need acres of space. ‘It was just within our price range and under the stamp duty threshold so we put in an offer that weekend,’ says Ingrid. ‘Luckily, the sale went smoothly as the owner was moving abroad and we sold our house to first-time buyers.’

Built in 1750, the cottage had a two-storey 1970s extension that doubled the ground-floor space and provided two extra bedrooms

upstairs. Ingrid and Dave wanted to improve the flow of the ground floor, but their plans were thrown into disarray when a leak caused the bathroom floor to collapse. ‘Getting married the same year annihilated our budget,’ says Ingrid, ‘so we ended up spending eight years with concrete flooring and wiring on show.’

Once they’d saved up, the couple moved the entrance door from the kitchen to the dining room and knocked the two spaces together, replacing windows at the side with garden doors. And the sitting room in the oldest part of the house also needed considerable work. ‘The stone walls felt oppressive so we added lime plaster over the bottom part and painted it dark blue.’ Ingrid, who has a degree in surface pattern design, describes her style as, ‘eclectic modern country. I like to mix vintage pieces with contemporary design. I find that otherwise, it’s got no soul if it’s all new.’

The final job was transforming the ‘mud bath’ of a garden. ‘I need to buy new furniture to finish it off,’ says Ingrid. ‘Having said that, I’m always getting itchy feet to re-decorate. Nothing stays the same – we’re often moving things around.’

KITCHEN- DINER The shelves, found outside a potter’s shop, were the starting point for the design of this rustic scheme. try Chic Craquele grey wall tiles, £52.44sq m, topps tiles. Bespoke artwork, from £600, ingrid Designs

MASTER BEDROOM ‘I thought painting both the walls and ceiling in Canton by Little Greene might be too much but it was one of our best decisions,’ says Ingrid. grove garden w5603-02 wallpaper by osborne & Little, £67 per roll, Paint & Paper

BATHROOM Black paint was used to transform the ex-display bath tub. honed black slate floor tiles, £35.95sq m, walls and Floors, would work here

GUEST BEDROOM Ingrid’s favourite piece of furniture is the bureau (right), which used to belong to her dad. For a similar wallpaper, try Superfresco easy Nature trail white Mica, £15.99 per roll, homebase