25 Beautiful Homes

| 25bh25bh october 2017 | 59vic torian detachedIt took Suzi Ellis just fiveminutes to seal the deal onher Victorian home – beforecalling her husband to tellhim she had just bought ahouse. ‘I instinctively knewthat it was right,’ she says. ‘R ichard had faithin me and, fortunately, loved it, too.’The couple had been searching for asolid period house for over a year and thisone ticked all the boxes. It had originalfeatures, a rural location and a beautifulgarden. It also had room for improvementinside. ‘The decor was very dated and thelayout was all wrong,’ says Suzi, founderof The English Cabinet Company. ‘Thedining room was as far away from thekitchen as it could be and there were moresitting areas than anyone could ever need.It all seemed very dark and disjointed.’But the feature which sealed it for Suziwas the kitchen – the existing cabinetry wasfrom her husband’s family furniture firm,JT Ellis. ‘It was serendipity,’ she says. Theymoved in while Suzi was expecting theirsecond daughter, agreeing to live there fora year before starting to make changes.‘I think that lasted 24 hours,’ says Suzi.‘R ichard was having a bath when heshrieked: “It’s no good, I can’t live with this.”We called the builders the very next day.’At first they rewired, replumbed anddecorated throughout. But a few years later,they realised they could do much more toimprove the property. ‘We wanted to takethe house back to its original layout as muchas possible, while keeping it up-to-date,’ says``````INSPIRINghome truthsthe PRoPeRtyDetached house, built in 1865L o c at I o N HuddersfieldPuRchaSed 2000RoomS Sitting room, diningroom, kitchen, breakfast room,tv room, five bedrooms (twoen suite), bathroomPRevIouS PRoPeRty‘We had a 200-year-oldfarmhouse nearby,’ says Suzi.SITTIng RoomThe new fireplacesuits this classicallyproportioned room.Fireplace, £5,500,chesneys. Walls paintedin cotton iv pure mattemulsion, £46.50 per 2.5litres, Paint & PaperLibrary. alicia sofas,£2,059 each, tetrad