Over the last few years, we’ve been documenting the renovation and transformation of our homes.
It’s been an exciting, fun and at times exhausting adventure but we’ve well and truly been bitten by the DIY bug and now can’t imagine our lives any other way!
We’re currently on the hunt for our next home!
After moving halfway across Europe from Manchester to Berlin a couple of years ago, we’re now planning another epic move to Amsterdam! We’ll be sharing all of the details here as soon as we know what’s happening! We can’t wait to start renovating and sharing our DIY adventures here with you!
In the meantime, come on in and take the tour of our homes!
terence tucker says
Hi,
What paint do you recommend for kitchen cupboards etc…also any particular brand of paint for covering floor tiles?
Christine says
When painting kitchen cabinets it’s really important to use the right primer and good quality paints. Which ones you use will depend on what your kitchen cabinets are made of. You can see the exact step-by-step process along with the exact products we used and recommend in this post about how we painted our kitchen cabinets. We personally haven’t tried painting floor tiles yet, so I’m afraid we don’t know which products are best for that. There are specific tile paints available though.
Hope that helps!
Cx
niamh kearney says
lovely home youve done a good job
may i ask, what colour did you use on your walls it is so refreshing!!!!!!
p.s i hope you dont mind me asking :)
Christine says
Thank you, Nimah! We’re always happy to share any details of our home – which room do you mean? We share the details of what we got where and which colours we used in our source list. Maybe you can find what you’re looking for there? Happy to help otherwise, though!
Cx
Nee says
Mind to tell me the brand and shade of the paint you used for your Edwardian house’s living room? The lovely gray.
Christine says
Thanks, Nee! The colour in the living room is Steel Symphony 4 by Dulux. We share a full list of what we got where and what colours we used in the “Shop our home” section on the blog if you have any other questions.
Hope that helps!
Cx
Katherine says
Your DIY and renovation skills are incredible! So inspired by your home(s). I am obsessed with the grey chair with wooden legs and arms, that’s in your living room. Where is it from? It would be perfect for my living room! Thanks, Katherine
Christine says
That’s so kind of you to say, Katherine!
You can find out what we got where in the Source List section on the blog.
Having said that, the chair is from Ikea!
Cx
Andy says
Hi! We live in south Manchester and are looking for a way to get cupboards into our alcoves like you did in your living room.
Did you have someone in to build them or do it yourself?
Andy
Christine says
The cupboards were one of the first things we had built in our house (long before we realised how much we could DIY). We were unlucky with our first joiner and ended up ripping them out again. Looking back we could have built them ourselves but paid another joiner (who was great) to rebuild them. This is the joiner we used.
Hope that helps.
Cx
Giovanna says
You did an incredible job! I admire you!
Christine says
That’s so kind of you to say! Thank you Giovanna!
Cx
paulo says
this is an incredible transformation, I’ll keep watching!
Christine says
Thank you, Paulo!
Cx
Mini says
Well done with this project! Looks fantastic!
Can I ask what colour paint you used for the front living room? Many thanks!
Christine says
Thank you, Mini! We share what we got and used where in our house over in the source section on the blog – the colour we used in the living room is by Dulux and it’s called Steel Symphony 4.
Cx
Meg Springgay says
HI guys,
I just came across your post from Pinterest and am officially obsessed! My husband and I are currently remodelling our flat in Clapham and I have been on the look out for cool / calming colours to paint the kitchen + living room…as we are knocking down the wall to make it open plan. I really love the colour in your living room and wondered if you could tell me what it is?
We are ripping out the entire kitchen and flooring tomorrow morning and I have been busy ordering paint samples…which haven’t really come out as I envisioned. I originally went for Revere Pewter and Smoke Embers, both from Benjamin Moore – but they are not quite right. I want a cool grey – but light in colour since our flat is quite small, so I want it to feel bright and airy to contrast with the white skirting and cornice.
The kitchen cabinets are going to be white shaker…and i also ordered a white marble effect quartz countertop to be installed for the kitchen and new breakfast bar which goes in next. So everything will be quite white and I need a paint colour that will offset the white and pop, but not be too dark as I want to use the same paint throughout the entire flat.
I can’t tell if the paint you selected in the living room is more of a blue tone….or grey? I also like the grey paint you selected for your hallway….any advice you can send me would be greatly appreciated!
Well done on your flat – it looks absolutely amazing!
Christine says
Thank you, Meg! Finding the right colours can be so difficult. I’ve lost count of the amount of testers we’ve tried. We’re always happy to share where we got anything and what we used. The colour in the living room is Steel Symphony 4 by Dulux. It’s difficult to say if it’s more blue or grey because it changes a lot during the day. Sometimes it’s bluish and often it’s more grey.
The colour in the hallway (above the dado rail) is Cornforth White by Farrow & Ball. Mostly it’s a soft grey colour and it’s definitely a much warmer shade than the colour we used in the living room.
We share most of what we got where over in the Source List section on the blog.
Good luck with your flat!
Cx
Amy says
YOUR HOUSE IS BEAUTIFUL – WOW WOW WOW!
The changes you have made are lovely, its pretty much my ideal home, the stainless front door windows are my dream!
I have just bought an old Victorian house which is in need of some love, feeling a bit panicked about it your house tour has put my mind at ease! Just beautiful, I hope you have many happy years there :)
Christine says
Thank you so much, Amy! We love our front door, too – it’s one of the reasons we first fell in love with the house. It took a lot of work to get to this point but it’s been very rewarding, too. Good luck with all your new home!
Cx
PS. We’re actually in the process of moving! You can read about our reasons behind the decision here:.
Amy says
I have just read your blog regarding your move, sad to leave a house that you have worked so hard but also so very exciting moving to a new place and a new country! :) all the best with everything, please do not take down this blog I need the inspiration! :) xx
Christine says
Thank you so much, Amy! Yes, it’s not quite what we’d expected but we’ve already started to view apartments here in Berlin and I’m sure it’s going to be fab. We’ll definitely be keeping the blog going, too and we’re already itching to get stuck into a new renovation project.
Cx
Amanda says
Wow! What a lot of work you guys have done already. I love your house. We are about to buy our first home in Northern Canada and surprisingly we have a very similar layout to yours (it is also almost 100 years old). When I saw your pictures of the living I was so happy our living rooms are very similar in size and I have been struggling to find pictures for furniture layout ideas and yours is just perfect.
Christine says
Thank you so much, Amanda! It’s surprising just how many similarities houses all over the world have. So glad we were able to give you a few ideas.
Good luck with your new home and feel free to ask us any questions – we’re always happy to help if we can!
Cx
dean says
Hi I like your house.
I have a smaller fireplace in my living room to what you had. Did you get a builder to remove the original fireplace? Does it come out in one bit or did you have to smash it up? Thanks
Christine says
We had one fireplace removed and removed another ourselves. It’s really easy to do but you, of course, need to check that there’s no gas or anything else connected to it. How it comes out, will depend on your fireplace, but essentially you’re probably smashing it up. We used a hammer drill with a chisel attachment to remove the bricks. Just also check for a lintel in the brickwork – you don’t want your chimney falling down! You can see how we removed the fireplace in the dining room here.
Cx
olef says
amazing job and a beautiful home.
Christine says
Thank you so much, Olef!
Cx
Kyron says
Loving the stained glass on the front door and surrounding panels. Beautiful home you have.
Christine says
Thank you, Kyron! The front door is one of our favourite features!
Cx
Natasha says
Your house is very stylish the detail is fantastic. Can I ask how high ( or low) your picture rail is in your sitting room. I really want to put them back in my 1930s semi but am not t sure what the right height would be. Is yours in line with the door height?
Christine says
Thank you so much Natasha! Our ceilings are 2.80 m high and the picture rail is at 2.20 m. It runs just over the edge of the door frame. We knew that that’s the hight they would have originally been at, as we could still see a line in the plaster from where they had been removed.
Cx
Rich says
LOVE what you’ve done guys it looks amazing. My wife and I love the blue you used in your lounge – is there any chance you could let us know the make (Dulux / F&B) and the shade?
Christine says
Thank you so much Rich!
You can find out where we got what and which colours we used in our ‘Source List’. The colour we used in our living room is Dulux Steel Symophny 4.
Cx
Rich says
Thanks Christine. We’ll check out the source list (and go buy a tester pot of the Dulux SS4)
Donna says
Hi, just came across your blog. What a fabulous job you’ve done! I was wondering where did you get your living room fire from? I’ve just moved and the house has one similar but there’s no manufacturer details on it. (Need new coals and he inside has gone white where the flame hits it).
Love what you’ve done with the hallway. Inspiration for mine!
Christine says
Thank you for the compliment Donna!
Our living room fire is an original period one which we got from a shop that sells original fireplaces. (This is where we got ours).
I’d recommend checking out fireplace shops near you to find one that’s suitable for your space.
Hope that helps!
Cx
Rebecca says
Hi after searching on tips for damprofing our cellar I found your blog , the colour on the treads of your stairs looks lovely can I ask what you have done to achieve that colour in the wood ? We currently have stripped ours ready to finish in a dark colour/ stain ?
Christine says
Thanks Rebecca! We shared the whole process of stripping, sanding and painting the staircase. You can read the final reveal post here. The post included links to all of the previous steps and materials we took to get the project finished. The stain we used is Fiddes non-grain raising stain in rich mahogany. We loved it and it was really easy to apply.
Cx
Hephzi says
Thanks so much for writing this blog! We’ve just bought a Victorian terrace in South London and have been living through the chaos of rewiring, knocking out walls, replastering etc – it’s re-assuring to see proof that it is all worth it in the end!
I hope it’s become a true home, full of fun and laughter! Thanks for all the tips!
Christine says
Thank you & congratulations on your new home Hephzi! It’s always great to hear that we’re not alone on our journey.
Cx
Victoria says
Aah this is such a lovely blog. I stumbled across it looking for “how hard is it to install picture rails”?! I have just moved into a terraced Victorian house in Hull which only needs cosmetic updating/changing to my taste (and maaaybbeee I ought to replace the wire fuse box at some point) but I’m having to do things room by room as funding allows! You have lots of lovely ideas, and it’s comforting to see something that’s a work in progress… it’s made me realise it doesn’t have to be perfect all at once!!
And it’s making me dare to lift up my laminate downstairs… yesterday I lifted my carpet in the front hall hoping for victorian tiles (no such luck!)
Love your hallway, and you stained glass windows. top notch stuff! xxx
Christine says
Thank you so much Victoria! Whilst I would love everything to be perfect and finished, it is kind of rewarding to do things room by room, too. It makes you appreciate the rooms that are finished even more!
We’d also hoped for tiles in our hallway, but luckily our floorboards were at least in a good condition.
Good luck with the rest of your home improvements!
Cx
Braywills says
Nice post!! You have really done a good job with a DIY home project. Your house looks amazing. You have done everything with proper planning and perfect execution. I like the most is your staircase designing. Work is appreciable. Well done.
Christine says
Thank you so much!
Cx
marie says
I must say, your house is amazing!!!! (after all the hard work you guys have done, of course!) It is simply charming, and your sense of decorating style is wonderful!!! I can’t wait to see what other improvements and changes you make. I stumbled onto your website when looking at Halloween decorations (your matte black glitter skull was on a 20 DIY decoration list), but I fell in love with both your DIY, and your personable blogs. Definitely going to be a bookmarked site for me from now on!!! Keep up the great work
Christine says
Wow – thank you so much for your kind words Marie! We’re so flattered and happy that you stumbled upon our blog. We have a lot more improvements ahead of us and it’s always super motivating to receive a lovely comment like yours. Thanks again!
Cx
Lauren says
Hi!!!
Love what you have done… It’s given me real inspiration and motivation to take on a project with my first buy… Eeek!
Could you share the dimensions of your downstairs… I’m concerned my project it a bit pokey!
Christine says
Thank you Lauren! Wow, your first buy – congratulations! It is hard work, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it in the end!
Our living room is roughly 17m², the dining room is about the same. Overall the downstairs is roughly 60m².
Hope that’s some help & good luck with everything!
Cx
Jess says
Hi Christine and Jan
Amazing work with your place! It looks soooo much better! How do you find the time!?
I noticed you have put (back) in dado rails in most of the rooms. How did you do this? Can you just buy wooden ready-made dado rails and paint over them?
Thank you!
Jess
Christine says
Thanks Jess! It’s taken us over 4 years to get this far, still have a way to go though!
Yes, we’ve been reinstating period features including picture rails. You can just buy them at most DIY stores. We wrote about ours a while ago and you can read more about how we did it here.
Cx
Ellie beggs says
It seems we’re all buying Edwardian in The north west. We are right in the middle of our renovation in Wirral & I’ve been looking for the sort of panelling that is in your hall photo. You have totally confirmed my thoughts that it will look awesome! Can you tell me who you used? I keep getting quotes running up to £1000!
Fantastic job both. Inspired me to keep pushing on.
Ellie xxx
Christine says
Haha, it’s a great place to live – everyone should buy an Edwardian home in the north ;).
We did all of the work on the staircase ourselves – including the panelling along the wall (you can read about it here) .
Looking back I’d definitely invest in a mitre saw as it makes cutting things soooo much easier and tidier! I’d guess that we spent around £60 on materials.
Good luck with your renovation!
Cx
colin says
hello guys, i stumbled across your page while looking into insulating my living room ceiling, I’ve had a look through you site and all i can say is kudos to you guys for doing a great job. Im a painter and decorator to trade ,so tackling some of this stuff would not be as troublesome to me as it maybe to other with no building experience but you guys are taking it in your stride…well done and keep up the greta work, colin
Christine says
Thank you for your kind comment, Colin! Yes, we’re taking on a lot of projects and things usually take a bit longer than expected, but actually things are (sometimes) surprisingly easy when you put your mind to it.
Have fun insulating your living room ceiling!
Cx
Izzy says
I absolutely adore your home and what you have done with it. I have just bought my own small Victorian terrace and your blog has given me loads of ideas. I just hope I can do it as well as you guys have! Thanks for all the inspiration.
Christine says
Thank you for your kind comment, Izzy! Congratulations on your new home, I’m sure it’ll turn out to look fab.
Cx
Steve says
Great looking house guys, always get satisfaction from renovating things and the memories of the late nights and pain soon fade away! Found my way over to your blog after looking around at people who had done floor sanding as we’ve just found some in our bedroom and hallway which were hidden under some not so lovely laminate. Looking forward to doing it although sounds like hard work!
We love the wardrobe you’ve got in your bedroom, was that sourced locally or somewhere like Ebay? Is it Georgian?
Good luck with the rest of the DIY :)
Christine says
Thanks Steve. You’re right, sanding the floor was really hard work, but was sooo worth it!
The wardrobe in our guest bedroom has been in Jan’s family for over 100 years and we’re lucky enough to be the current owners.
Cx
Jason Brown says
I found your blog by pure accident and absolutely LOVE IT!!! Can you tell me what software/tool you use to draw your plans such as the loft drawing in the Planned Projects for 2014 Post. This would really help me and my partner planning our renovation projects.
All the best and keep up the good work.
Christine says
That’s so kind, thanks Jason! A friend drew the drawings with some architecture software, but you could try something like SketchUp which is free and really easy and instinctive to use (even in 3d).
Hope that’s some help.
Cx
Kimberly Hughes says
How have I never come across your blog before?!?! Just discovered you tonight via the Bathrooms.com awards (I was a nominee :)) – congrats to you both!! So funny because we are also updating an Edwardian house on the outskirts of Manchester (Cheadle Heath to be precise), also turned the keys in June 2010! While we have different tastes, I think what you’ve done is absolutely phenomenal – your place is looking fanfreakingtastic. So anyway, thought I’d say hello *waves* and nice to meet you ;) I’ll be following along your progress! xxx
Christine says
Awww, thanks Kimberly! Glad you found your way over to us – especially as you just live round the corner! We definitely have different tastes, but I love and admire your sense of style!
Cx
Tracey Cutler says
So glad I came across your blog! We are hoping to complete on our own Edwardian home on the Wirral next month and can’t wait to get in. Reading everyone’s comments it weems we all have the same issues – taking out the evidence of trends over the years to restore the original beauty! I think we have evidence of most decades since the house was built – a beautiful Art Deco fireplace in lovely condition but so obviously out of place! We currently have vinyl window cling on the vestibule door – seeing your finished doors has made me see how beautiful that will look one day. We went for a second visit on Saturday and peeled back some quite hideous carpet to find original floorboards (oh the joy!!!) – seeing yours makes me realise just how much the effort will be worth it.
I can’t imagine how many weekends we will now be spending renovating your home (and it’s probably best I don’t know until we’ve exchanged!) but I do know that I will be revisiting your blog to watch the excellent tutorials when the time comes.
Congratulations on turning your house around – what you have done already is stunning – I’ll be interested to see what you do next. Thank you so much for taking the time to share it like this and in doing so providing inspiration for people like me!
Christine says
Thanks Tracey! You’re right it is a lot of work and we already can’t remember what we used to do at the weekends before we started DIYing on our house! But don’t worry, it’s all kind of fun and the result of all of your hard work will be so worth it!
Keeping our fingers crossed for your new home!
Cx
denyse marshall says
I have just bought a dilapidated Edwardian house as I could see the potential through the 1960s and 70s décor and polystyrene tiles. I have seen your site and your house is fantastic. Thank you for taking the trouble to upload your progress. If I can do mine half as good I will be very happy! My first conundrum is putting a bathroom in upstairs, was yours already in situ or have you or any ideas?
Christine says
Congratulations on your new home & thank you for the kind compliment! Our tiny bathroom was already upstairs, but if you have any drawings that you could send us, we’d be more than happy to have a look and see if we have an idea or two.
Good luck with your renovation!
Cx
Cat says
Hi,
Your blog is so helpful as we are renovating a Victorian terrace, your house is just lovely!
I just have a couple of questions that I hope you don’t mind answering, where did you get your fitted cupboards in the front room?
Also I am removing the paint off a small cast iron fire this weekend, would you suggest nitromors on it? This is what I have at the moment.
Thanks! X
Christine says
Aww, thanks Cat! The built in cupboards in the lounge we’re made and fitted by a local joiner. We used Nitromors to strip one fireplace and PeelAway to strip another. If you’re using Nitromors, I’d recommend (this is our way of doing it and not necessarily something they’d recommend) covering the surface you’re trying to strip with some clingfilm after applying the Nitromors. It’ll allow you to leave it on for longer without it drying too quickly. You could also check out our fireplace FAQ and our bedroom fireplace that we stripped with Nitromors.
Good luck – it’s messy, but so worth it!
Cx
Simon Berwick says
Oh thank you VERY much for taking the time to up load all your endeavours. I found your site searching for advice (ok ok ‘help!!’) on how to reinstall Edwardian fireplaces that had been bricked up (such an awful act). I complete on my home in Plymouth soon and you two have wrestled with all the ‘projects’ I have to very soon conduct ‘operations’ against. Thank you for all the top tips and advice. I was so close to getting experts in but will now give some of the jobs in hand a go myself. All the VERY VERY best.
Christine says
Thanks Simon, you’re very welcome! We’re always happy to help if we can!
Good luck with your renovation & congrats on your new home!
Cx
Charlotte says
I stumbled across your blog by searching Edwardian renovations on Pinterest. I’ve spent the last 3 hours avidly reading all your projects and tips. We are due to exchange on an Edwardian property in London. The current owners have been living in the property for over 30 years but I’m not sure how much upkeep has been carried out. It has no original fireplaces, polystyrene ceilings in places and the walls between the living room, hall way and dining room have been removed. Looking at your layout has been so inspiring, especially upstairs. Your study is our bathroom, and where your bathroom is, is just a very narrow room with a toilet. Not even room for a handbasin. The extra room going to bedroom 3. However where I was obsessing about knocking walls through, putting walls back in, finding fireplaces, internal doors, skimming walls and ceilings, I’ve now realised we need to go back to basics further and properly insulate where we can. Going from a inter-war terraced property with an energy rating of C to an Edwardian semi, energy rating of E, we will be feeling the chill. Brrr! No wonder the owners had the heating blaring and wearing fleeces when we went to view! My husband and I are the opposite of handy, so this should be a massive learning curve, but seeing how your beautiful home is emerging is inspiring. Love this blog. I’ve bookmarked and following your progress on Instagram and Facebook.
Christine says
Thank you sooo much, Charlotte! It definitely sounds like you will have your work cut out! As much hard work as it is, it is fun as well, too! Jan and I both weren’t handy at all when we bought this house and are both still definitely learning a lot and surprisingly some things are actually a lot easier that you’d think!
Good luck with your new house!
Cx
PS. Why not send us your floorplan? We’d love to have a look and see which walls we’d knock down!
Jan says
Hi stumbled across your site looking for tips to restore our dark and dingy edwardian hall/staircase. Just spent the entire weekend stripping and sanding newel posts,spindles etc.etc. gave up trying to keep the stair carpet ( the heat gun burnt it) so up it came. I ache!! everywhere and was ready to give in and hire some-one to do it…until I found you. Absolutely empathise with all your pain but you are an inspiration lovely girl. My teeth are newly gritted and I have a week annual leave, so what else can I do in a wet week in February? Some questions I hope you dont mind? The skimming plaster you used, I too have hundreds of little holes and cracks gong up the stairway does this stuff blend in with wall surface without having to re-do the whole wall? Also previous owners have already stripped and varnished floorboards but they are scratched and need some tlc, could I just varnish over them after sanding back the damage? Really can’t justify hiring a sander and don’t think my new mother next door would appreciate the noise. Look forward to your next project.
Christine says
That’s so kind, thank you! You certainly have your work cut out, Jan! I can’t tell you how many times we lost the motivation to continue with our staircase restoration. It is hard work, but remember that it’ll be worth it in the end!
The skimming plaster that we used was Polycell Finishing Skim Polyfilla. It worked well for filling all of the holes, but I would probably spread the filler really thinly over the whole wall. When I say thin, I mean thin! I gave it a really good scrape across the wall, so that it filled all of the cracks and just left a very, very thin coat across the wall. When it’s dry, I’d also give the wall a sand with some fine sandpaper.
With your floorboards, it really depends on how damaged they are. Of course best would be to hire a sander, but if I were you I’d try your second option first. Just try it in a small area and see if you’re happy with the result!
Hope that’s some help! Good luck with your staircase!
Cx
Carmen Silva says
Best wishes for the New Year.
I’ve done the stairs and apart from the new look it is so easy to keep it clean, going up and down with the vacuum was killing me as the carpet never looked really clean.
The first coat of the brown paint took ages to dry, but eventually the project went ok.
Thank you for the inspiration and good luck with the rest of the house.
Carmen
Christine says
Best New Year wishes to you, too, Carmen! Congratulations on your staircase – so happy for you that it all turned out well!
Cx
Pam says
Although Randy and I are getting a bit old to DIY, I love reading about other people’s DIY! I know how difficult it is as we have (in the dim, distant past) renovated homes and actually built a couple (well, the builder actually BUILT it, but we helped—aka, made decisions!). Good luck and I’ll be following along. We’re off to England this spring (only 5 days and look forward to a wonderful time in your lovely country (we live in Tucson, Arizona, USA)!
Christine says
Thanks for stopping by, Pam! We love reading about DIY, too! We even sometimes look back at some of our older posts – seeing how far we’ve come helps to keep us motivated for future projects.
Have a lovely time in England!
Cx
Ella says
Your house is wonderful. You have done a great job so far. I have just bought a house that needs a lot of work and so am bracing myself for the endless jobs ahead. I really like the colour of the varnish you have used on your floorboards. Which colour did you use? My floors are coverend in horrid laminate and so I will be ripping them up. Thanks.
Christine says
Thank you, Ella! It certainly is a never ending list of jobs that need doing, but it’ll be so worth it in the end! We ripped up the laminate flooring in our hallway and it was one of the best things we’ve done so far in the house! All of the sanded floorboard in our house are varnished with Granwax Aquathane Satin in clear. It’s great because it doesn’t have that plasticy look that you sometimes see on varnished floors. It was also really easy to apply and dried really quickly. We were advised against using a coloured varnish, as when it chips (which it will do) the mark will be really visible. It’s better to stain the floor and then varnish it.
Good luck with you renovation!
Cx
Alex says
Hi. Your house is gorgeous!! can see there’s so much hard work in there!! I love your fireplaces in particular. .. We’ve moved to a lovely Edwardian semi but :( unfortunately fireplaces have been taken out. We’re in the north west too so just wondering if you can recommend a few places where you got yours?
Christine says
Thank you so much, Alex! It’s so sad when people remove original features, except for the fireplace in our bedroom, ours had been removed, too. There are loads of fireplace shops around Manchester – it seems to be some kind of hub.
We bought our fireplace and surround that’s in the living room here (there are about 3 other fireplace shops on the same road). There are so many restoration places around, I’d just choose one that’s near you. Our best advice would be go for a drive & have a good look around, really compare prices (there can be some quite significant differences) and don’t rush things!
Cx
Julia says
It’s fantastic love it ,
Julia says
I’m in love with those stairs, really want to do that to mine.
Christine says
Thanks, Julia! It took a really long time to do, but we’re really happy with the result and think that all the hours of sanding were definitely worth it!
Good luck for your stairs!
Cx
Meaghan says
Drooling over your gorgeous house! The living room and entry way are my favorites, so stunning. Kerryn shared your link with me and every picture I couldn’t help but say oh wow! ooooh! wow!
Christine says
Awwww. Thanks Meaghan! You’ve just made my day!
Cx
Kari says
Love your house! For first timers, you have an amazing eye! I’m intrigued with your wonderful fireplaces. Where did you find the parts to restore those? Well done!
Christine says
Thanks Kari! Glad you like it! The fireplace in the our bedroom was already in the house and just covered in a lot of layers of paint, so we just needed to strip and clean everything. The fireplace that’s currently in the dining room had a few bits missing which we had made by a local blacksmith. We’re lucky to have loads of fireplace shops around, that specialize in these antique fires, so it’s fairly easy to get hold of most things.
The hearth tiles in the guest bedroom are another matter. It’s impossible to get hold of original ones, but we have found somewhere that makes bespoke tiles, so we’re looking into having some made to replace the ones that are missing.
Cx
Pam and mark says
Hi,
I love what you’ve done to your home, I’m going to follow you to see how you get on. We bought an Edwardian 5 bedroom last year, it was in reasonable order but were uncovering some DIY bodge jobs every month. Putting our own stamp on the house will take a long time and lots of cash. I am obsessed with cracks- mostly hairline, I’m convinced I see different ones everyday but its just me. I realise its a house that’s over 110 years old so it will have had some cracks in its time. Your post on the cold brought back memories of our first winter here last year. Omg it was so cold, we have a log burner in our kitchen which was a life saver, we are going to get another fitted in living room this summer in readiness for next winter. Our loft room is the coldest so your post on loft insulation was handy to read, we’re even considering putting kingspan all around the outside of the plasterboard that makes the room…!
Christine says
Hi Pam & Mark! Glad you found your way over to us! We’ve just been looking into getting a log burner for our dining room and you’ve definitely convinced us that it’s the way forward. Nor sure how many more cold winters I could put up with.
Cx
Pam and mark says
Go for the log burner, it’s the best. Nothing like looking at a real flame, warm cosy glow. Can’t wait to see what else you do. P.s is your home in the North East.
Pam
Christine says
I can’t wait either! We have something really exciting planned for the the dining room, fingers crossed we’ll be able to share it with you in the next few weeks.
P.S. We’re in the North West.
Cx
Catharine @ Your Modern Couple says
Seriously.. This home is amazing. I can’t believe the state was in and how you’ve completely transformed it. Absolutely stunning! I’m officially obsessed.
Christine says
Awww, thanks! Not sure we’ve earned your praise, but we definitely love to hear it!
Cx
sara says
Such a lovely home and you have done such beautiful updates! I am enjoying browsing through your projects page!
Christine says
Aww…thanks! I should probably get the project overview updated though! ;-)
Cx
Kerrie says
Just found your blog after seeing the stairs photos on apartment therapy. WOW… stunning, congratulations. I know stripping back so much is a complete pain, but its almost like a treasure hunt seeing what is under all that paint LOL. Just wondering if you have thought about turning the small office area into an ensuite bathroom or walk in robe? Love the idea of a combined kitchen/ eating area and that dining room door area looks made to have a french door there ….. sorry can’t help renovating ideas; I’m sure you understand. Cheers
Christine says
Hi Kerrie! THank you so much for your kind comment and creative advice!
We had thought about turning the office into an en-suite (it’s actually what our neighbours have done), there are two reasons why we decided not to do it. The bedroom wall isn’t very long, so if we had a door there to the en-suite we’d only be left with enough room for a small double bed. As we like our space (and to avoid Jan kicking me at night) we like having a big bed. The main reason is that we are going to convert our loft to an extra bedroom with en-suite and tiny walk-in wardrobe. You can check out our plans for the year and loft here:
Now for the kitchen! We’ve not shared this yet, so psst…. it’s a bit of an exclusive. We are planning to do pretty much exactly what you have described! We’ll be completely overhauling the whole area including a new kitchen! I can’t tell you how tempted I am to already just tear down the wall now! I think it would dramatically improve the space! We’ll be having the structural calculations done with the loft calculations, so keep an eye out – one day soon we may be the little house on the corner minus a wall ;-)
Hope you come back to see how we’re getting on!
Cx
Cathy says
What a lovely home yo have. I so enjoy seeing a British home being restored/updated. We lived in England as children and I miss the architecture and people everyday.
Christine says
Thanks for stopping by Cathy! We’re finally starting to see some results! Hope you pop by again soon for a bit of britishness. ;-)
CX
Meredith says
I found you via the Ugly Duckling – I love what you’ve done with your home. I must admit that I’m completely obsessed with your light fixture in the front entry – where is it from??
Christine says
Thanks Meredith! There’s still a long way to go with our home, but we are slowly getting there!
So glad you like our hallway light. We actually made it. It was soooo easy to do and you can read about it here. If you make one of your own we’d love to see the result!
Cx
Karen Anne says
Wonderful work. I am consumed with envy :-)
Christine says
Thanks! There is still a long way to go though!
Cx
Renee says
What an amazing amount of progress you’ve made! Looks awesome!
Christine says
Thanks Renee! There is still a lot to do, but we are slowly getting there.
Cx
Cassity @ Remodelaholic says
I LOVE your house! I LOVE it!… I am trying to not be over enthusiastic, but it is just too hard not to be…wonderful house!…I answered your comment, not sure if you will get the reply, but I really wanted to ask if we could feature a home tour on my blog… Please let me know! email
me!
Christine says
Thank you so much for your extremely kind comments! Not too sure we’ve earned them yet. Thanks for the encouragement!
Cx