Country Homes & Interiors – September 2019

W

henClaireandDarrenBecketthad

theirfirstdaughter,it quicklybecame

apparentthattheirtwo-up,two-down

homewasn’tgoingtocopeforlong.

‘Itwasjustaboutbigenoughforthetwoofus,butwhen

Ameliecamealongit definitelyfeltovercrowded,’says

Claire,whorunsonlinelifestylestoreChalkHomeware.

Withpreciouslittlesparecashtoincreasetheirmortgage,

thecouplefoundanothertwo-bed,butonethatcould

beextended.‘There’sa basementripeforrefurband

theloftcanbeconverted,too,asandwhenfunds

permit,soeventuallywewillgettheextrabedrooms

weneedwithoutoverstretchingourselves,’saysClaire.

Butbeforetheycouldevenmovein,theproperty

neededa lotofworkonthegroundfloor.Luckily,

Darren’sa carpenterandwasabletodoit himself.‘It

hadbeenrentedtostudentsformorethana decade

andthesmallgalleykitchenwithpeelinglinoanda

dampsmellwasparticularlygrim,’saysClaire.Butwith

Darrenonlyabletoworkontheproject– whichinvolved

knockingdownwalls,dampproofingandaddinga side-

return extension – in the evenings and at weekends, it

draggedonformuchlongerthananticipated.Fortunately,

thefamilycouldlivewithClaire’sparentsduringthe

process.‘Ittookwellovera year,butnewsofanother

babyonthewayhelpedtospeedthingsup,’saysClaire.

Whenit finallycametothedecorativetouches,the

budgethadtakena serioushit,butClairehada plan.

‘I’mallaboutworkingwithwhatwe’vegot.Overthe

yearsI’vedevelopeda skillforestablishingthelook

I want,thensearchingandsearchinguntilI findthe

cheapestoptionpossible.’Forthekitchen,shehad

fallenhardfora bespokein-framedesignwitha relaxed,

utilitarianstyle.‘Mostoff-the-pegShakerkitchenshave

alay-ondoor,noframe,butthenI spotteda classic

in-framedisplaybyBenchmarxKitchensatourlocal

WickesandknewI coulddressit uptomakeit work.’

Whilethemainworktopsaretimber,Clairedidsplash

outonCarraramarblefortheislandtop.‘I likematerials

thatagegracefullyandtheuniquenessyoucanonlyget

fromnature.Nooneelsehasa worktopexactlylikemine,’

shesays.Thesamecanbesaidforthereclaimedtimber

shelvesDarrenmade.‘It’stheseuniquetouchesthat

make our inexpensive kitchen feel much more special.’

Clairedressesthespacewithvintage

findsanditemsfromherownonline

store, chalkhomeware.co.uk

Darrenboughtthetimber

doorsfroma salvageyard

andrestoredthemtohidethe

boiler and laundry appliances

110 COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS