coa stal | 25bh
H
annah and Jasper Bolding were no strangers to
property renovation but it wasn’t until they collected
the keys to their new home in Brighton that Hannah
realised the enormity of the work that lay ahead. ‘The
property was everything we’d been looking for – a double-fronted
period house with a good-sized garden – but it was in a horrendous
state,’ she says. ‘The kitchen was grimy and old, the windows were
mouldy and the bathroom was disgusting – all the woodwork was
painted in a bright blue gloss. Our daughter Mya was just five
at the time and I thought we’d bitten off more than we could chew.’
With carpets being laid and floors due to be sanded in the next
few days, the couple didn’t waste any time. Juggling childcare withfriends and family, Hannah and Jasper worked into the small hours
to make the property feel more homely. ‘We got the brushes out and
got on with it,’ she says. ‘I started by painting over the blue gloss
throughout the house with an eggshell white and then I painted
the old red kitchen units a soft grey as a stop gap before we had new
cabinets fitted. ‘We just made it more easy on the eye – although
now, whenever you bash the woodwork any chips reveal bright blue!’
As veteran renovators, Hannah and Jasper, a quantity surveyor,
were aware that waiting for planning permission can hold up vital
building works, and decided to submit their application for the
kitchen extension before the sale was completed. ‘It was a risk, but
we were hopeful as we weren’t in a chain,’ says Hannah. Thankfully,SITTING ROOM
Bold grey fabric gives
this classic armchair a
contemporary twist.
For a similar chair, try the
Safavieh Dixie in Grey/
Blue, £399.99, Wayfair.
Kilim vintage rug in Grey,
from £299, The French
Bedroom CompanySITTING ROOM
Stripped floorboards
and pale grey walls
create a timeless feel.
The Umage Eos feather
lampshade, £325,
Dowsing & Reynolds, is
a match. Thunder grey
velvet cushion, £50,
Design Vintage25bH AUGUST 2019 | 71