A Liverpool-born mum feared she had bitten off more than she could chew when she settled near an iconic part of her hometown following a quarter of a century away.
Victoria Maxfield, 45, searched for a home with character for three years before buying her 1890s terrace near Penny Lane. The house had been owned by the same family for 130 years; the previous occupier's parents had bought the property brand new and he lived there his whole life.
Victoria said: "We favoured period properties but found the ones sympathetically updated with retained period features were out of our budget. He passed away in the property and we hope he'd approve of what we've changed."
READ MORE: Bungalow where 'one of the greatest songs of all time' was written
Victoria grew up in Liverpool and returned with her family after 25 years of living in rentals in Yorkshire and London.
The project has been daunting to say the least; when the family moved in there was no central heating, unsafe electrics, a leaky bathroom and no plumbing for a washing machine. However, these issues made the place "affordable" although "quite the leap" for first time renovators.
The family have brought down the partition wall between the kitchen and dining room to create an open plan space, and opened up the door to the outhouse for a utility room.
The kitchen now features stunning dark blue cabinets and an oven set in a tiled recess with bare brick above. Dark grey patio doors in the dining area lead to the 'yarden', a decked space filled with lush greenery.
Victoria lets the house take the lead when it comes to décor: "I love the era of the house and we've uncovered so many original features as we have gone along it has informed our choices."
She also told the ECHO L18 was at the top of her husband's list when it came to house hunting. "He isn't from Liverpool but has always enjoyed visiting the city with me. It's been nice to experience the area from a non-local perspective.
"Aside from the musical history, we love the buzz of the independent shops, cafe's, restaurants and pubs. With the parks too we feel we have everything on our doorstep and we love giving the tour buses a wave. Friends who come to visit from outside the city always want a selfie next to the iconic sign."
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