My 60s home is full of retro touches

When Alice Lunn bought her first home with fiancé, Jack, she had no idea of the work that lay ahead in renovating a 60-year-old property

Renovating was a steep learning curve for DIY novice Alice, but well worth it

‘I actually prefer second-hand furniture rather than buying new’

MY STORY

Both Jack and I were brought up around Beverley in East Yorkshire. We wanted to stay in the area but buy our own house so we lived with our parents for five years while we saved up to get on the property ladder. We didn’t want a new-build, and we accepted there’d be work with an older property.

Jack spotted this house a while back but he kept quiet until we got our mortgage offer. It was the first house we’d seen in person and we both knew it was the one. To get four bedrooms, plus a garage and a corner plot for the money was great.

What we didn’t bank on was the amount of work that needed to be done! I had never painted or wallpapered before in my life. Downstairs there were seven layers of wallpaper and three layers of tiles on top of each other in the bathroom. Luckily, our family pitched in to help. We were here every evening and weekend stripping away, painting and making decisions. It was a steep learning curve. I’ve always loved interiors and my mum has great taste, so I often run things by her, sometimes before Jack. Lockdown actually gave us the time to get the house just as we want it, and we absolutely love it now.

The deep blue walls, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue, add drama to the living room. Rather than curtains, Alice chose white wooden Venetian blinds from Swift Direct Blinds to provide privacy. ‘ The Habitat velvet chairs and West Elm gold and marble coffee table were all from Facebook Marketplace. I got them for £30 and £40 each – a real bargain!’