room for change
No corner was left untouched during the update of this spacious Hampshire home
Keen to remain faithful to their roots, Jade Severs and husband Jon set out to find somewhere close to the coast when looking for a family home. ‘We had bought a small Sixties house in the centre of Havant a few years previously, but were rapidly outgrowing the space,’ says Jade. ‘ We wanted to stay nearby, as both Jon and I grew up on the coast and wanted our children to have the same upbringing as we did, with many happy weekends spent at the beach.’ Luckily, they found an attractive place close by.
Having never owned a period property before, Jade was hesitant when it came to viewing this Edwardian house, but was soon won over by its generous space and the potential it offered. ‘The downstairs layout needed completely changing, as it was a rabbit warren of rooms and the dining area had barely any light, but we loved it,’ she says.
Within just a week of moving in, the couple found out they were expecting their third and fourth children – twin girls. With the added rush of getting as much of the project finished as possible before their arrival, Jade and Jon engaged an architect and surveyors to help reconfigure the layout. ‘We decided to open up the rear ground floor to create a kitchen-diner with a playroom so I could keep an eye on the children,’ says Jade. ‘Upstairs, the bathroom was moved from the back bedroom to the middle of the house and the old bathroom was converted into a bedroom.’
As the couple didn’t have to obtain planning permission, the work took around three months, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. ‘ While laying new
Hall The wooden bench was a charity shop bargain. For a similar bench, try the Portobello, £100, The Cotswold Company. For similar seat pad fabric, try Antique Rose cotton, £20m, Cath Kidston EVA AND MAE’ s BEDROOM The simple pink accents in here can be changed easily as the girls grow. Sniglar cot, £39, Ikea. Try the Findlay pink rug, from £35, Laura Ashley. Pink bunting, £11 for 5m, The Cotton Bunting Company BOYS’ BEDROOM ‘My mum made the boys this teepee,’ says Jade. The Grey Star teepee, £89, Great Little Trading Co, is similar. Hemnes chest of drawers, £100, Ikea. Try the dinosaur kids’ wall stickers, £ 49.95 for six, Mirrorin at Notonthehighstreet.com pipework, the builders discovered that the ground floor joists were rotten and had to be replaced,’ recalls Jade. ‘Despite their best efforts, the house was not ready for the twins’ arrival, so I found myself juggling tile orders and sorting fixtures and fittings days after they were born. Not an experience I would repeat again in a hurry!’
Jade envisaged the kitchen-diner being the heart of the new family home so lots of time and research went into planning this part of the house. Grey Shaker-style units complement the period of the property and the couple chose a hard-wearing laminate flooring that can cope with the wear and tear of their four young children, Finley, five, Eliot, three, and Eva and Mae, two. ‘A main requisite in the kitchen was storage space and the generous central island has given us additional drawers to keep the surfaces clutter free,’ says Jade.
Once the structural work was complete, Jade moved on to designing the interior. Her aim was to create a light and bright space that flowed from room to room, and she has stuck to a muted palette with pastel accents. ‘I was keen to keep the property’s original period details, so we restored the cornicing and ceiling roses,’ she says. ‘Several of the fireplaces had been covered up by the previous owners, so we exposed them again as they are such beautiful features.’
Fast forward two and a half years and the trials and tribulations of the renovation have long been forgotten and the family are finally enjoying their new space. ‘The reconfigured layout has completely changed the feel of the house,’ says Jade. ‘Now it fits our everyday lifestyle perfectly.’