Style at Home

Make itCraft yourown fancyfootstoolPAG E 2 6Taking on a house that neededa lot of work didn’t faze meand my fiancé Andy at all,’says Victoria. ‘We first viewedthis old cottage a few yearsago and it was in dire need of care andattention, however we’re both fairlyhandy and wanted a challenge. Plus, we’dbeen struggling to find a period propertywithin our budget, and this way, we couldadd value and put our own stamp on it.Although the main part of the house isVictorian, it had an odd 1970s extension atthe back with a flat roof, which housed thekitchen and bathroom. This was also wherewe found most of the problems. Everythingneeded doing – there was damp, cracks inthe walls, no skirting and pine panellingeverywhere, but it had a lot of space andcharacter, so we took our chances.``````Helping handsStraight away, we enlisted the assistanceof our fathers, Roy and Bob, who betweenthem have plenty of experience of DIYand property renovation. Andy is good atbuilding, too – he made our wardrobes, laidthe living room floor and installed a newkitchen and bathroom, as well as helpingme paint the whole house. And as I restorefurniture for a living, I took charge of thedecor and accessories, making most ofthe cushions, and choosing the fabricsand colour palette – it was a team effort.Our first challenge was the damp. Oncethis was solved, we replastered everywhereand replaced the radiators before turningour thoughts to the master bedroom. Asthe floorboards were in good shape in thisroom, we simply revived them with floorpaint. Next, Andy built the wardrobes sowe could put away all the clothes and hideany clutter. It meant we had a tidy, calmsanctuary where we could escape whileall the other work was being carried out.Admittedly, the renovation was quitehard at times as we had to fit everythingit ALL OURSELVES’With a little helpfrom her family,Victoria, 33, hasmanaged to totallyrestore her Victoriancottage on a tightbudget and bringit back to life| 17Love ithousetohome.co.uk/styleathome SEPTEMBER 2016TWO-BED TERRACE