A couple added £90,000 to the value of their home by transforming their dated 90s time capsule property into a modern, open-living space.
Rachel and Richard Turner, aged 34 and 35, took on a huge DIY project which saw them painstakingly restore the property’s original Edwardian features.
The house was in such disrepair that the front door and frame was rotting away, while the interior hadn't seen a refresh in three decades.
The couple were also greeted with heavy curtains that darkened the windows, bright red shag carpet and tired magnolia walls that needed a lot of renovation.
But the pair were prepped to take on the huge workload after spotting the potential to turn the unloved property into their dream home after they purchased it for £560,000 in June 2020.
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In total, Rachel and Richard spent around £20,000 on the renovations - meaning they’ve made a profit of £70,000, as their home is now worth an estimated £650,000.
Due to the dire condition of their new home, the couple weren't able to live in it while DIYing and instead, along with their three-year-old daughter, Poppy, moved in with Rachael's parents nearby.
Rachael, who works in finance, said: “The house was empty and it had been for a while, the people we brought it off had already moved out and nothing had really been done to it in quite a long time so it was very, very dated.
“It was quite 90s; bright red carpets, magnolia walls. But when we lifted up the carpet in the hallway downstairs we found these beautiful original Edwardian tiles.”
Rachael discovered the tiles were around 110 years old, but sadly they were in a really bad way, cracked with some tiles missing.
Not wanting to cover them up again, the family called in an expert who repaired and replaced the missing pieces for £800.
Next, after ridding the downstairs of its beige decor, Rachael had £3,000 worth of shutters installed to maximise the light that enters the lofty rooms.
One particularly pricey aspect was the "wobbly" downstairs floor, which had to be completely replaced.
Rachael and Richard chose to install an engineered oak herringbone floor but before they could do that, they had to have the existing floor evened out.
This set the family back an eye-watering £6,000.
Rachael added: “The space is quite big so there's quite a lot of floor area and the two rooms, the living room and snug, kind of flow into each other so we had to have the same floor throughout.
“It took a bit of time to make that decision because it's expensive but I'm really really pleased with how it turned out, it looks so nice.
“Something that made the price go up quite a lot on the floor underneath was really, really wobbly and uneven so we had to have the floor all evened out first.
"They use this material called screed, kind of like concrete and level the floor before they can lay the oak. It was a really big job.”
Unfortunately, one feature the couple weren’t able to save was the replica Edwardian stained glass surrounding the front door.
They discovered this had been cheaply replaced in the 70s and would have been very costly to repair.
Although the renovations were mainly carried out by tradesmen, Rachael did turn her hand to the interior.
Some bits of furniture were purchased brand new, while others were skilfully upcycled, such as a beautiful cabinet which she sanded, painted and added wallpaper on.
Rachael said: “My husband and I are not handy at all. Things that people find really easy, like curtain poles, l managed to make a mess of.
“But I found the cabinet on Facebook Marketplace where someone was trying to get rid of it for free because it is massive and wouldn’t fit in a car."
The family moved in after four months of renovations in October 2020, leaving the bathroom and kitchen makeover for a later date, as these had been updated before the sale went through.
Prior to taking on the 90s time capsule home, RachaeI - who shares her design ideas on her Instagram page @OhMyEdwardian had only ever owned an “all white” new build.
She added: "Our previous house was a new build. It was all white and I just kind of left it how it was when the builders built it, so there wasn't much going on in there.
“But then when we bought this house and with it being an Edwardian property, I really wanted to kind of make the most of some of the original features.
"So I just spent so much time doing research on Instagram, looking at people who have Edwardian houses and what they've done to their home.
“I work in finance and I never thought I was creative."
How much did they spend?
- Bespoke pink wooden front door built by specialist carpenter to Rachael's design – £4,000
- Restoration of original Edwardian hallway floor tiles – £800
- Decorating throughout including paint – £3,000
- Engineered oak herringbone floor in living room and snug – £5,000
- Carpets for upstairs – £2,000
- New radiators – £1,500
- Bespoke carpenter built alcove cupboards in the playroom – £1,500
- Art work and prints – £1,500
- Cabinet upcycle – free cabinet, £40 van hire, £26 paint and £30 wallpaper
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