Country Homes & Interiors – September 2019

(WallPaper) #1
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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

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