PERFECTION

setback, but after some research we both got stuck in replacing the floor ourselves. It was dirty work and living in the house at the same time was tough, but we had no choice but to just get on with it! As well as replacing the suspended floor, we fitted new insulation, re-laid the floorboards and widened the doorway from the hall into the living area, making the entrance feel more open.

Light infusion

After our success with the floor, we felt we could tackle anything, and in the new year started on the structural work in the kitchen. The kitchen door was removed, the old doorway blocked up and a new doorway knocked through into the courtyard with a glass replacement door. The tiny window was widened to almost the whole width of the left side wall filling the room with light. The difference these changes made were quite incredible, it

completely changed the feel of the house. We then got a plasterer to skim over the Artex on the ceilings and the walls and started to think about the decor.

Labour of love

Our style is quite old fashioned. We love exploring car boots and charity shops finding interesting bric-a-brac, and had already started to collect some amazing, cheap Victorian pieces on Facebook Marketplace. Victorian furniture can be quite imposing and dark, so we decided to keep the decor simple and painted all the walls and ceilings white, which also created the perfect backdrop for my growing collection of vintage finds. We were keen to fit parquet flooring throughout, I love the design and the way it warms a space, but it was out of our price range. Ollie spent weeks scouring the internet until he found someone selling a job lot of reclaimed parquet

flooring for £100. It felt like such a steal at the time, but it has taken us over two years to clean up and install. It’s been a labour of love, but it’s made our home.

Kitchen refurb

In the hallway we added panelling to give it some character, painting it a classic olive green. Ollie then made a simple statement of the stairs by meticulously painting a runner in white. The bedrooms upstairs have all been slowly redecorated, the old carpets removed, and the original floorboards restored, and this year we have finally been able to update our kitchen. Our budget was quite small, but we opted for quality, bespoke Shakerstyle cabinets from DIY Kitchens. We had heard some great things about them and wanted to spend a little more on something that would last, and we knew

‘We panelled and painted the wall in Green 02 from Lick to add some character’ MAMMOTH PROJECT ‘We found old parquet flooring on ebay, which we cleaned up and fitted ourselves. It was a labour of love but looks beautiful’ IDEA TO STEAL

RUG ZONE ‘The large vintage rug zones the living space, giving it a cosier feel’ FRESH FLORALS ‘I love the ditsy print of this vintage Laura Ashley sofa, it works perfectly with our aesthetic’ NEAT FIT ‘We used an Ikea kitchen cabinet in the alcove for extra storage’