25 Beautiful Homes

14 | 25bh OCTOBER 2017###### It was a case of third time lucky whenLottie and Simon Waugh found theirdream home in Essex. ‘We were livingin an old, higgledy piggledy cottage,’says Lottie, ‘but we desperately needed morespace. When this house came onto themarket we fell in love with it – the ceilingswere high and the layout felt fluid. It neededlots of work but there was plenty of potential,plus it was near my parents and sister.’The couple quickly put in an offer on theproperty, but were outbid. ‘When the firstsale fell through, we were still keen to buybut we lost the house a second time,’ recallsLottie. ‘We were so disappointed. Finally,though, the owner called us directly. Hetold us he was being mucked around bythe buyers and asked if we’d like to proceedwith the purchase. We were delighted!’ Once``````they had moved in, Lottie and Simon beganthe first phase of the renovations.The house had been extended byprevious owners but was in need of acomplete internal facelift. ‘We started withour en-suite bathroom,’ says Lottie. ‘Allthe taps had seized up because no one hadlived in the house for a long time, and I wasdesperate to install a separate shower – inour old cottage we’d had a shower over thebath to save space.’ They also ripped outthe dated flooring – there was black-and-white chequered vinyl in the hall and salmonpink carpet everywhere else – and put inwooden boards downstairs, and sleeklimestone flooring in the kitchen.‘The next step was to get the kitchendone,’ says Lottie. ‘The existing space wasa narrow, galley shape, far too small for thefavourite feature ‘The kitchen – it’s wherewe spend most of our time. It took a while to get thedesign right, but it was worth it as we love being in here’SITTING ROOMSoft shades of silver and lilac anda sofa in rich fabric make this arelaxing space for entertaining.Out There Interiors sells mirroredtables, from £250. Try thePlymouth ottoman in Tan stoneleather, £339, Swoon Editions``````kITcHENThe Shaker-style units look fresh andcontemporary thanks to the cool colourscheme and modern quartz worktop.Cabinetry, price on request, Davonport. Islandunit painted in Stiffkey Blue estate eggshell,£60 per 2.5 litres, Farrow & Ball