By restoring original features and decorating in contemporary colours, Esther Pillans has totally transformed her Victorian terrace
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MY STORY
We’d made offers on six different houses and missed out on them all, when this fourbedroom Victorian terrace came up for sale on one of my favourite streets. It was pitchblack when we viewed the house as the lights weren’t working but I could make out the cornicing, deep skirting boards, goodsized rooms and high ceilings. There was loads of potential, so we made an offer that night. Looking back, we ended up with the best house. It was definitely meant to be.
For the first year we lived with our parents nearby, spending evenings and weekends working on the house. My dad’s a builder and my brother helped out too. They knocked down the wall between the kitchen and dining room, blocked up the original kitchen door and added new French doors. A lot of time was spent putting original features back, including ceiling roses and four fireplaces, as well as sanding the floors throughout. Our last job was replacing the rotting front door with a new period-style design complete with stained-glass panels.
In the next two years we might move somewhere with a bigger kitchen and bathroom, but we’ve learned so many new skills to take to the next house.
‘Oversized mantle mirrors, off-white walls, white marble and sleek velvet is my dream look’
‘We ended up with the best house. It was definitely meant to be’
‘I’ve tried to put something old in every room to stop it looking like a showroom’
‘I’d rather do things once and do it properly, so I’ve spent money on things like quality marble tiles that won’t date’
Style idea
Show off your favourite book covers rather than the spines ‘ The Swoon dining table is from auction site, John Pye, and I’ve teamed it with chairs from MADE.com and a ceiling pendant from HomeSense. I love the size of this room as there’s enough space for my MADE.com sofa, which I’ve dressed up with cushions from H&M Home. The alcoves looked cluttered with furniture in them so we got a joiner to make the shelves, which we painted in Down Pipe by Farrow & Ball to match the walls’
‘ The dining area is much lighter now we have two sets of French doors at the back. The Palm tree print from HomeSense ties in well with my pink and green colour scheme’
‘I fell in love with these floor tiles from Porcelain Superstore. They work so well against the dark kitchen and the marble mosaic wall tiles from Walls and Floors. We got the oven and microwave separately from Very, and it looks so much better having the fridge-freezer hidden behind doors’ ‘After being told an island wouldn’t fit, we taped one on the floor and released it could work. I like having the sink on the island so I can watch the TV in the dining room when I’m washing-up’
Style idea
Use a selection of different-sized IKEA glass jars for dried ingredients
Style idea
Add a stylish tray to a large, firm footstool and it doubles up as a coffee table
‘It took me ages to find the right art for this wall. I finally found this jungle print in HomeSense, which I love. It works really well with the green sofa from MADE.com’
‘ The biggest expense was probably the marble chevron floor tiles from Mandarin Stone. I didn’t want a bold colour or pattern as I was worried it might date. However, we saved money on the simple Metro wall tiles to balance things out’ ‘ The panelling and desk have both been painted in Farrow & Ball’s Card Room Green for a matching look. We got the chair and rug from HomeSense and the colourful striped pouffe is from The Rug Republic’
Style idea
Personalise above your bed with initialled decorations ‘ The reclaimed fireplace is definitely my favourite feature in the room. It has beautiful details and took lots of hard work and time to restore it. The chest of drawers is from Swoon’ ‘ We chose Strong White by Farrow & Ball for the walls with a dark blue bed from MADE.com to contrast. The side table is from Swoon and the wall lights are from Iconic Lights’