HOME TRUTHS

THE PROPERTY

Detached three-storey house LOCATION Kent ROOMS Hall, sitting room, kitchen-diner, cloakroom, playroom, five bedrooms (one en suite), bathroom

PURCHASED 2016 PREVIOUS PROPERTY

‘Before we bought this house, we lived in a semi nearby,’ says Holly.

When their family expanded, Holly and David Jones knew they needed a larger home but were determined not to move far away. ‘This area of Kent is our dream location,’ says Holly. ‘There’s so much green space and both the woodland and beach are only five minutes away.’ The couple soon found a Sixties house nearby, but it needed a complete renovation to suit the family’s lifestyle. ‘The existing structure was virtually demolished and rebuilt,’ says Holly.

The hall and stairs were re-sited, and the whole of the ground floor was replanned and extended on two sides to create a large kitchen-diner and utility room, as well as a spacious sitting room. The first floor was reconfigured to include a large family bathroom, main bedroom with en suite, two children’s bedrooms and a guest bedroom. ‘As there was already so much upheaval, we decided to convert the loft into an additional guest room, too,’ says Holly.

The Joneses moved into rented accommodation for the duration of the work but with Jude, now five, and Ivy, three, to look after, Holly had her hands full. ‘I had to rely on David to project-manage the heavy work, assisted by his dad, Tudor,’ she says. While Holly planned out ideas for the decor, David, who runs his own electrics

company, spent every spare moment on site managing the build and installing all of the new electrics throughout the house himself.

The renovations were completed with astonishing speed and the family were able to take up residence in just under a year. Then it was time for Holly to put her ‘New England meets Scandi’ stamp on the interior. She kept the decor mainly white, but introduced plenty of natural textures in the furnishings and created feature walls to add definition. The couple agree that the kitchen is now truly the heart of their home. ‘Our main aim was to create a welcoming, sociable house as we do lots of entertaining, particularly at Christmas,’ says Holly. ‘ We also love music, so David has placed speakers all around the house, and has installed integrated heating and lighting to evoke different moods for various times of the day.’ This year, the couple are hosting 14 family members for Christmas lunch and are looking forward to seeing the ‘smart’ and sociable home they have created come into its own.

‘It’s a magical time for us as the house has an especially lovely feeling during the festivities,’ says Holly. ‘David and I both come from happy families and our dream was to give our children the same joyful childhoods in a home just like this.’