Rate My Renovation ‘We spent £250k on our home with no roof’

TV’s Julia Kendell gives her verdict on Maria’s cottage. By Samantha Partington

Afamily bike ride in the green belt countryside of North Yorkshire led Maria and David Hatton to Backstone Cottage, a tumbledown 18th century house with a collapsed roof. Seeing that it was derelict, the family hopped over the fence to take a closer look.

“When I saw it I thought, ‘ Imagine if this was our garden’,” says Maria, 43, an interior architectural designer, pictured. “It had an acre of garden and an acre of woodland with two streams running through it. We’re an outdoorsy family and I knew my two children would love it. I had to get this house for us.”

Because of its state, they needed a specialist mortgage to buy the house for £815,000 and just a week later, in March 2021, the renovation began.

It took nine months and £250,000 to transform the cottage which included a new roof, a granny annex to the side, a rear extension for a new kitchen, a guest bedroom and three double rooms upstairs. The property has recently been valued at £1.2m.

Telegraph Money asked Julia Kendell, interior designer from Kendell+Co, speaker at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show, and regular on BBC One’s DIY SOS to cast her eye over Maria and David’s renovation.

KITCHEN

A bespoke kitchen designed and supplied by Seamless Interiors is paired with Dekton marble countertops that “although quite expensive, are bulletproof ”, Maria said. “They won’t mark.”

The cupboard doors are sprayed in “green smoke” and finished with brushed brass handles. “I wanted a natural, neutral and timeless colour palette,” she says.

A single palette of materials and colours has been used throughout the house. Her principal materials are oak, stone, marble, slate and terrazzo stone. Her colour palette is brushed brass, black, green smoke and anthracite. By using the same palette of materials and colour throughout the house, says Julia, it removes any jarring as one moves through the home.

“The natural colours and materials are sensitive to the period and bridge the period property with the demands of a contemporary home,” she added. On the floor, the couple chose Monmouth slate, a luxury vinyl tile.

Julia says: “Backstone is a successful renovation and has been transformed from a crumbling wreck into a characterful, well-functioning family home.

“The kitchen is lovely and the floating shelf is a perfect way to add a lower layer of soft lighting.”

On Maria’s choice of flooring, Julia said: “Luxury vinyl tiling is practical but you can lose the softness of the property by introducing manmade materials. An engineered timber floor can be more durable than you think and no more expensive. In the south- facing kitchen, the vinyl will throw up a fair amount of glare.”

FAMILY BATHROOM

A freestanding double-ended bath sits in front of the window with a handy wine shelf running alongside. A walk-in Crittall-style shower, marble floor tiles and brushed brass fittings complete the look. Most of the bathroom fixtures and fittings were sourced from online shop Drench.

Julia says: “The bathroom is beautifully designed. The painted ceiling plays into the current colour drenching trend and is a great choice, creating a cosy environment and softening the white of the floor and tiles.”

BEDROOM

Originally, the first floor was just one big space. The couple needed to cleverly carve up the area into three double bedrooms; a master bedroom and two rooms for their children, nine and 11. They chose not to have any treatments on any windows so that the family can wake up when the sun rises.

But to create more space upstairs, Julia says she would have explored the possibility of adding mezzanine floors to the children’s bedrooms.

And she supports the Hattons’ decision not to have window dressings. “Scientific research has shown that having sunlight on the eyes shortly after waking can reset our circadian rhythm and promote better sleep.”

For advice, inspiration and access to the latest products and services, claim your free tickets to a Homebuilding & Renovating Show near you at

www.homebuildingshow.co.uk/ pr-daily-telegraph.

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UPSTAIRS THE PROJECT TRANSFORMED