...a holiday for your dream project?

Would you sacrifice your longed-for breaks to pour money into a major house renovation? Two readers reveal what’s important to them

YES ‘I gave up holidays but I don’t dwell on it. It was my decision to do this’

Jo Mcloughlin (@renovationfoxton) lives with her sister in a former worker’s cottage in Shadwell, near Leeds

‘It’s been a really long renovation process on my house. I knew that I would have to sacrifice time and money from holidays to the project, but I still think it was worth it. I like going on holiday, but interiors are what I really love.

‘I bought the house at the end of 2015 and moved in last August. It’s a stone-built end of terrace in a village setting, and it was tiny. I’ve nearly doubled its size with an extension. The house hadn’t been decorated since the 1950s or 1960s either. There was a downstairs bathroom and a makeshift kitchen that was falling down.

‘I’ve made a big family bathroom upstairs and added an extra bedroom. There’s an openplan kitchen with Crittall windows. The kitchen was knocked down and replaced with a utility.

It’s taken longer than anticipated and has been a bit overwhelming as I had to get new builders part way through. I gave up holidays and a lot of other things, but I haven’t let myself dwell on it – it was my decision to do this.

‘You wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t want a break, but I love my interiors so it was worth it. I don’t want to see another paint brush for a while though! Because of the financial cost, I may have to forgo a holiday this year and next, but my home is exactly how I wanted it to look – I don’t regret it.’

NO ‘I’d rather live in 50 per cent squalor for the sake of two weeks of magic’

Emma Rigby (@dustybungalow) lives in a 1930s bungalow in Neath, South Wales, with husband Steven and their three boys ‘We’ve always done our best to prioritise family life, so everything in our home has been done on a shoestring budget. We’d much prefer to have a family holiday, when our attention is solely on the boys, than plough every penny into the house.

‘We’ve lived in the bungalow for three years and it’s maybe 50 per cent finished. It was in really poor condition. The roof leaked and squirrels and mice had moved in. It wasn’t financially viable for us to live elsewhere while renovating. The boys all slept together in one bedroom for the first year and we slept on the floor in the kitchen. Luckily my husband can turn his hand to anything, so we’ve never had to pay any tradesmen.

‘We’ve replaced the roof, knocked down walls and chimney breasts, relocated and replaced the kitchen and plastered most of the rooms. The flooring is ongoing and there are still windows to be replaced. Everything has been bought second hand as we have a make-do-and-mend attitude.

‘But every summer we pack up the car and drive through Europe. We’ve cruised through Monte Carlo in our beaten up Volvo, swum through the magnificent rocks of Pont d’arc and driven from St Tropez to Cannes to spot celebs during the film festival. The boys talk about our holidays all year long. Buying an extractor fan just can’t compare to those kind of memories.

I’d rather live in 50 per cent squalor for the sake of two weeks of magic any day.

‘Hopefully that’s what the children will remember when they’re older. It’s about the happy times we’ve spent together, not whether we’ve got expensive tiles or a fashionable bathroom.’

We make our holidays extra special to compensate for having to live in a building site. Hopefully that’s what the children will remember