PORTFOLIO

We have finished the house and it’s sold!

It’s been a while since we completed the renovations and put it on the markets but it has now changed from under offer to sold so I thought now would be a good time to show he before and after photos of the project and some in-between pictures to show just what’s been done to the place.

The front of the house has had a major face lift, the new windows and doors make it look more contemporary and the drive has added a lot of value to the property as it didn’t have off-road parking before. It looks like a lot of plats and shrubs were lost in the front garden but it was actually predominantly flagged out here and most of the greenery was out of control weeds. We’ve removed the flags and added some more bushes in and all of the plants have regrown and are currently flowering so it looks even better now than the picture shows. Instead of one long, steep incline to the front door we have a slight incline to the drive with some small steps now to make it an easier journey and we were then able to relay the flags to make it even safer.

There’s quite a big addition to the after photo here in the back garden. The extension looks really good and modern and even though it is quite large it hasn’t taken too much from the garden and there’s still plenty of grass and planting. The grass is slowly growing back and now that the fencing has been cleared of vines, replaced if broken and painted black it looks neat and tidy.

Now that everything is cut back in the garden you can see the potential it has as a family garden or extra social space. The path was relayed to make it level and safer but we didn’t feel the need to buy new flags and change the garden much as different people have different needs so we didn’t want to change the whole garden when this layout could be perfect for someone.

Moving inside we should probably start at the front door and the hallway that greets you. Changing the busy patterned carpet and painting the upper parts of the walls and ceiling bright white has opened up this space massively. Having laminate flooring run the length of the house also makes this area feel bigger as it connects the rooms and draws your eyes to the rooms at the back whilst being practically better as well with this being a high traffic area. The deep green and lush carpet add a touch of luxury and elegance as well as draw your eye up the stairs adding the spacious feel nut the pop of yellow keeps it playful and fun.

I have mentioned before how some people who have the seen front door aren’t too fond of it but I love it. The hallway needed some fun and this colour brings it in bucket loads. As well as painting the door yellow,I also painted the bricks in the porch to grey and this combination has really made the stained glass stand out. I believe that when you have an original feature like this it should be celebrated, it’s great craftsmanship and makes home a little more unique.

The angles don’t quite match up on these photos but you can still see the transformation of the living room. It’s much more contemporary and relaxing in here now and the colours I’ve used in here help the room feel brighter. The fireplace was too big in this room and made the chimney breast seem short. Not only did I take out the gas fire and surround but I made the decision to increase the size of the hole in the chimney breast. This changes the proportions of the whole wall and the whole wall now looks taller.

This was a very logical change and one that added value to the property beyond cosmetic changes. The kitchen was too small and needed expanding so we took it out and created a utility space with downstairs toilet in its place. Taking out the cabinets has meant we could put a door back in to separate he utility from the hallway and bring the under-stairs area out a little to make a comfortable toilet without losing too much space from the room.

Building a cupboard around the boiler has made this area look sleeker and created a better space for a washing machine to fit into without looking out of place. The biggest change is obviously the extension and creating a bigger opening as the entrance to it. It’s so much brighter and has now made the kitchen a sociable space big enough for a family to be in.

The dining room had a similar transformation to the old kitchen as it has been opened up and has become much brighter and a more comfortable place to be in without feeling cramped. The fire and surround were removed like the living room to create a big opening so it feels more open and there is now more usable floor space and the dining table is easily accessible on all sides.

Going up the stairs to the bedrooms and bathroom you are now walking into a bright airy space that flows well into the other rooms. Before it was quite dark and once we removed the wallpaper and re-plastered we were able to take the white paint undisrupted up the walls and onto the ceiling instead of having the papers change as a picture rail illusion, making the ceiling seem higher.

The main bedroom looks like it’s not had much done to it but the whole window and surrounding area was rebuilt and removing that fireplace was a very messy job. Unfortunately I didn’t et the right angle photograph to have a direct comparison of the room but you can tell that it is much brighter now and the decor is a bit more on trend now.

The radiators were all painted white so they looked a bit nicer and cleaner and the doors have been replaced for new contemporary ones that have also been painted white to match the white paint on the trims.

Not much natural light gets into the second bedroom so I decided to make this room fun and colourful to add some life to it and it ended up as my favourite room in the house. Everything came together really well in tis room and like the main bedroom, more work was one than it looks like in here. The wall that the bed is on was actually completely take down and rebuilt as the the whole wall started moving once we had taken the plaster off.

The same process of removing the fireplace happened in the 2nd bedroom as well, creating more space and only one pane of glass needed replacing in this room so we didn’t have to buy a completely new window.

Although it is the smallest bedroom in the house, the 3rd bedroom still needing a lot of wok doing to it. When we took off the wallpaper we found some cracks in the plaster and so we had to take it off and start again.

I’m quite glad we had to plaster this whole room as it now has smooth walls painted in calming colours and you can really see the potential of a small bedroom, nursery or office in here.

A very necessary improvement was ripping out the carpet in the bathroom and putting down tiles, please don’t put carpet in a bathroom. I did love the tiles in the bathroom and thought it was a shame to see them all go so I have actually repurposed some of them in the downstairs toilet of the house as a little nod to the original features. This is a generous bathroom anyway but removing the big cabinet has opened it up and the horizontal tiles have created the illusion of a wider wall. It’s a nice, calming bathroom now that matches the rest of the house in style and colour.

The final room is the kitchen but I don’t have a before and after for this one, just the afters. I’m super proud of how the extension has turned out and it has completely transformed this house and improved it massively.

And that’s it, the house is done. I’m glad it’s finally sold and although I don’t have another property to renovate at the moment I’m still keeping busy with other projects which will be up here shortly. I hope you have enjoyed seeing this renovation from start to finish and if you haven’t checked out the other renovation posts I would recommend going having a look to see the processes along the way. Thank you again and I’ll be back soon with some more designs and DIYs.