A mum has revealed how she and her partner completely renovated their “outdated” home – leaving the house completely unrecognisable.
Stephanie Larbey, a 31-year-old teacher and her husband Will, 32, both from Cheshire, had done some wallpapering and painting in a previous home but had never undertaken any building or DIY projects before.
They purchased their three-bedroom semi-detached home, which had formerly been used as a rental property, in April 2018 for £280,000.
After moving in, they immediately got their hands dirty transforming the house, completing the bulk of the work by June 2021.
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As a result, the property is completely unrecognisable, with a modern upgrade and stylish furnishings – all of which have added an estimated £110,000 to the property value.
“It had so much potential – it had been a rental property before we bought it so it had been kept clean and neat but was just outdated,” Stephanie, who is mum to 21-month-old Theo, told NeedToKnow.online.
On moving in, Stephanie realised the bathroom and kitchen were liveable, but not to her taste and decided to get to work creating “light and bright spaces” using “coastal tones and elements of wood to add texture”.
Stephanie added: “When we moved in, we started with rooms that we knew wouldn’t be affected by the extension – this was the master bedroom and front living room and hallway.
“The front living room had a brick fireplace and old log burner that wasn’t safe to use, so we knew this needed to come out.
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“I started to remove the bricks one Saturday morning while Will was out and that’s what kicked off the living room makeover.
“We had the fireplace replastered, adding cables for the TV, which come out of the side of the chimney breast.
“We had a new log burner and a Geo cast beam that absorbed the heat, protecting the TV.
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“We added a new front door and new windows to the whole house to improve heating, then we added plantation shutters to the front windows of the house which I love.
“Then we tackled the hallway adding panelling, but had to leave the yellow floor tiles as they stretched all the way through the downstairs. These later came up when we extended, and I was so happy to get rid of them.
“When we found out we were expecting in June 2020, we gave the box room a makeover including panelling painted in Dulux Matt white and added wallpaper.”
While each of the rooms has undergone a similar overhaul, the standout for Stephanie is her kitchen.
The kitchen was originally a small space with dated cabinetry and a black side island.
The final space, however, shows the space completely opened up with a large central white island, French doors looking out onto the garden, and stunning white decor with gold finishes.
In total, the renovation cost just under £98,000 to complete and now, the couple believes their home looks “totally different” from its original state.
While they hired professionals for the building work and a joiner to fit the kitchen, the couple did as much DIY as they could – including Will and his dad doing the plumbing work.
They’ve also tackled wallpapering, building the front porch from scratch, as well as making their very own fireplace.
As they’ve used their creative and savvy skills to transform their humble abode, they believe they’ve saved thousands on the overall project.
The pair often had to learn on the job and lockdown provided them with the perfect chance to learn new skills.
Stephanie said: “We learnt a lot during lockdown, through research and giving it a go ourselves, as we needed DIY-doing, but could only rely on ourselves during this time.
“Apart from the professional work, we’ve painted, created our own panelling, laid the flooring, installed the radiators, as well as the kitchen appliances and also placed all the worktops in the utility room.
“We renovated the garden fences using a hand saw as we couldn’t hire a chop saw. It took us three weeks to cut every individual length of timber for the fence.”
The couple is not stopping there and already has plans to undertake more renovations to their stunning home.
Stephanie added: “We still have the bathroom to do, and Will would love to convert the loft.
“The front of the house needs a new driveway and brick wall.
“Apart from adding the side extension, porch and shutters, not much has changed for the front – but the back of the house looks totally different.
“People never expect the kitchen/diner to be so big from the front and the garden has totally transformed too.
“I would definitely do a whole house renovation again.”
COST BREAKDOWN:
Extension – £80,000
Kitchen – £10,000
Living room – £1,300
Master bedroom – £1,200
Hallway – £1,500
Box room – £250
Utility room – £300 (not yet finished)
Garden – £3,000
Total: £97,550
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