2019-06-01 25 Beautiful Homes

originalfeatures.Forexample,theniceoldstairbanister

wasstillthere,wejusthadtoaddtheturnedspindles

underneath,whicha carpentermadeforus.’

Havingreturnedthehousebacktoitsoriginallayout

andupdatedthebathroom,SiobhanandJimdidmostof

thedecoratingthemselves.‘WesoldourhouseinLondon

forthesamepriceweboughtthisonefor,sowedidn’t

havea potofmoneytospend,’saysSiobhan.

Theywaitedsixmonthsbeforetacklingthekitchen.

Demolishingtheoldkitchen,a downstairsbathroomand

studyarea,theycreatedonebigkitchen-diningspaceand

addeda baywindowwheretherehadoncebeenanoutside

toilet.Siobhanhada lotofinputintothedesignofher

Shaker-stylekitchen.‘Wespenta lotonthisarea,

knowingit wouldbeourmainroom.Wealsohadtohave

thefoundationsstrengthenedtosupportthenewwindow.’

Whenit cametostyling,therewasdefinitelya retro

theme.‘Jimreallylikesshabbychic,vintagethingsand

IloveSixtiesandSeventiespieces,sothere’sa bitof

everythingwe’vecollectedovertheyears.We’venever

spenta lotonfurniture,butwedohavesomereallygood

vintagelights,’shesays.‘I alwaysthinkaninteresting

lampwillstandouta lotmorethana fancysofa.’

Withthehousenowreturnedtoitsoldself,allthat’s

lefttodois enjoyit.‘Previously,we’ddoupa houseand

moveon– andI’mnotsureweevengotaroundtoputting

picturesupinourlastone,’saysSiobhan.‘Butthisplaceis

thelongestwe’velivedanywhereandit reallydoesfeel

homely, as though we’ve finally put down roots.’

bathROOM

there’sa subtlenautical

themeinhere,withship

printsandportholemirrors.

Cambridgeroll-topbath,

£449,Bathstore.Dunelm’s

Porthole mirror, £25, is similar

hOMeOffice

Glassdecanters

pickedupata

car-bootsaleadd

boldcolourtothis

cornerofthestudy.

TheHemnesglass

doorcabinet,£195,

Ikea,isa match

dininGaRea

‘Wefoundthe

kitchentableat

auctionandit’sone

oftheonlythingswe

werebraveenoughto

spendpropermoney

on,’saysSiobhan.

Finda similarvintage

tableatLovejoys

Antiques in Brighton

favourite room

‘I spentagesplanningthekitchen

andit’sexactlyhowI hadpicturedit.

It’s a lovely, light-filled room’

period semi | 25bh

25bhjunE 2019| 103