On CHARACTER’
Ashley and Chris saw the potential and turned their Essex property into a warm, welcoming home brimming with festive flair
We really didn’t have to move very far when we bought our new home – this house was just over the road in fact!’ says Ashley. ‘We lived opposite, so we knew the road and the neighbours already, and when we went to view it we could see it had lots of space and potential – so much so that we couldn’t resist it when it went up for sale.
The property was actually out of our price range to begin with, but as the months passed by and the price dropped we took the plunge and bagged ourselves a great project. Although the layout wasn’t quite right for us, it was more a matter of knocking down walls to create a better flow rather than extending, which appealed to us.
Changing rooms
Inside, the decor was dated, with lots of florals, dark wood, and a kitchen to the front of the property. We were keen to make this our family home, so we took a fresh look at the layout, had some walls taken down and created extra rooms we knew we’d need.
We opened the dining and front room up to create a large open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, which is a lovely large, sociable space now. With the kitchen moved from the front to the back of the house it also meant we could now use that space as a playroom for Emily.
There weren’t any real disasters during the renovations, but the hardest part was the fact that we were doing all the work in the height of the pandemic. Getting materials was a nightmare – plaster was like gold dust, paint was non-existent and all the main DIY
chains were closed or had very limited stock.
Fortunately, one thing we did have was lots of time and after patiently making sure we got every room just right, the house is everything we wanted and more. In fact, I’d say this house was a piece of cake compared to other projects we’d had in the past – we’ve always gone for period properties before, that we’ve needed to extend, so it was a nice change not to have to do that this time.
Even though it was an enjoyable project, I can assure you it didn’t
‘THIS HOUSE WAS A PIECE OF CAKE COMPARED TO OTHER PROPERTIES WE’VE HAD IN THE PAST’