Diary of a house renovation in Scotland
Sara, Craig and their golden Labrador – Hooch have just bought a fabulous new house in Scotland. They are getting the keys later this week and Stylelounge will be following them during the next few months as they transform their new house into a dream home.
Both Sara and Craig have had properties before that required some renovating, and they are both confident DIYers, so they were quite keen to find a property that needed work so they can put their own stamp on it. After missing out on a property that needed an asbestos roof replacing, they were approached by a neighbour who lived across the road from Craig who was planning to sell her house. This was exactly the kind of property and location they had been looking for, so they jumped at the chance, plus being just across the road makes the whole move a lot simpler.
The house they are buying is a Victorian property, but as with many older properties, it has been quite neglected over the years and is currently stuck in 70’s wallpaper hell! Every part of the house will need renovating, so Sara and Craig are certainly going to have their work cut out if they are to get the house completed by Christmas as they hope. They’re planning to do most of the work themselves, with a bit of help from their friends, and hiring professionals to do the more complicated jobs.
The front of the house and the living room with it's "interesting" decor!
They are hoping to reclaim some of the house’s traditional features such as the original cornicing and floorboards, and mix these features sympathetically with a more warm modern style. The house is going to be decorated in warm neutral colours throughout, with modern artwork and wooden features to add interest to each room. If the budget stretches they also want to add a few feature pieces like moderns radiators to mix with the Victorian styling.
Neither Sara or Craig have any formal interior design training, but Sara’s love of design and architecture means she is constantly scanning magazines websites for new styles, so this has given her plenty of ideas to come up with a great design for the house. Sara also find the internet a great source of inspiration “holiday website’s can give you great inspiration if you are after a specific look, ie. Mediterranean or French country etc.” They don’t have any favourite designers although their favourite piece of furniture is the “Barcelona” chair by Mies van der Rohe, which sums up their classic-modern style perfectly. They like this piece because it looks good anywhere and easily mixes with modern cheaper pieces from Ikea and Habitat.
The dining room and one of the bedrooms, both in need of some design input!
The majority of the work will be decoration, but they do plan to put in two new working fireplaces and a whole new bathroom. They have planned their budget in great detail, remembering to leave a little for those un-expected costs that always crop up.
They have scheduled the work so that they finish the living room and bedroom first and have these two rooms to live in while they complete the rest of the house. Following on from that, they plan to tackle the kitchen, dining room, hall and stairs, then finally the bathroom which will require the most work. If the budget allows they may decide to revamp the loft after Christmas and turn it into a study or another sitting room.
We will be reporting monthly on Sara and Craig’s progress, so you can read what obstacles they come across, and see how they turn a tired old house into a great new home.
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