When you're hunting for a new home it's very rare to be able to 'try before you buy', but that's exactly what 53-year-old Jo Constant did, unbeknown to the sellers.
Looking for a new adventure, Jo packed up her belongings, sold her cottage near Brighton, and ushered her two dogs, Fanny and Flippit, into the back of her car and set out to find a new home.
Jo explained: "I work for a global company as a VIP travel and lifestyle concierge arranging trips and events for customers located all over the world. My work is over the phone so I was able to apply to work from home. So I travelled the country looking at properties, I could move to anywhere I wanted within the UK." You can get more property news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Having the freedom to put down new roots in a new location, where would you chose as your number one spot? Of course Jo decided on trying to find her dream rural escape in Wales. She had studied at Golden Grove Gelli Aur, near Llandeilo, on an HND wildlife illustration and design course and so had already had a flavour of how special our country is.
But Jo had a long wish list that a Welsh property was going to have to fulfil that included a quiet location, with easy access to countryside walks, and a village pub. Inside the charming abode had to have fireplaces, beams, flagstone floors, a downstairs loo and, most importantly, a river or brook running nearby or, ideally, through the garden.
So, when her house hunting tracked down a cottage on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, she was already very intrigued and, seeing the photos online of the pretty, two-bed Kingfisher Cottage, only made her more interested.
But there was a problem with actually seeing the cottage in reality. Jo said: "When I enquired I was told that viewings were very limited as it was a successful holiday cottage and was always booked; so I checked the availability and managed to book a short break to stay as a guest!
"I was concerned that as it was over 300 years old it might be haunted or have noisy neighbours or not the right energy in some way. So I got to do a 'try before you buy' stay. I didn't tell them I was a potential buyer at that time!" As soon as Kingfisher Cottage welcomed Jo on her secret, spy mission she was smitten. She said: "The cottage energy was beautiful, it felt safe and happy, very peaceful and my dogs loved it there too, especially paddling in the brook.
"I loved falling asleep with the window open listening to the babbling brook and owls hooting at night - much nicer than the sounds of seagulls and people shouting on the streets at pub closing time back in Brighton!"
The day Jo picked up the keys to the cottage after her successful purchase was the start of making this pretty Welsh house her home, with plans to renovate and update to suit her taste and lifestyle.
She said: "The condition when I got the cottage was liveable and not too bad, I just wanted to make it better and enhance the feel of the place which was functional but not as charming as it could be." The list of work to do, and then achieved, is long and impressive and includes the garden as well as the interior and décor of the cottage.
Outside, Jo has built a driveway over the top end lawn area, gravelled it, removed the main gates and put up a fence with a gate so there is now private parking and direct access to the garden, plus almost everything that could be was painted in a mellow grey shade called Stonebreaker chalk finish, made by Vintner.
"I cultivated an overgrown patch in the garden by the log store and put a stone base using stones taken from creating the kitchen fireplace", Jo added, "And I put a double swing seat on this patch as it's a perfect spot to relax overlooking the brook."
Inside there was hard work to be done that included stripping and sanding, removing and replacing. The interior transformation list included removing the dark red quarry tiles and putting down a limestone flagstone floor in the kitchen, which can also be found in the snug and downstairs cloakroom.
Jo said: "I removed a plasterboard end wall and cupboards in the kitchen to reveal a solid stone wall and two alcoves, then had a feature stone fireplace created into the wall with a lovely old oak lintel as a mantle shelf.
"I took up rotten floorboards in the top lounge to put limestone flags down, but it turned out that the floor wouldn't take the weight of the flags. So I refloored it with lightweight grey boards but am waiting to find a reclamation floor to put down, when I find the right one."
While changing the bathroom flooring for a dark wood to compliment the beams and doors, Jo found a beautiful ancient stone step hiding under the old floor that is now proudly revealed as a prominent feature.
There was a huge amount of sanding and painting too, with the staircase almost, but not quite, winning the renovation battle. Jo said: "I sanded both sets of stairs, stained the treads to match the dark wood doors and beams in the cottage and painted the risers white. That sanding job was hell. The black tarred edges just wouldn't come off; it took forever."
Even the neighbours, who Jo described as lovely, got stuck in with the refurbishment. "I wanted a log store to put by the wood burner in the garden room with a shelf for kindling and space on the top for my TV", Jo explained, "I described it to my amazing neighbour, Tom, who lives next door with his wife Emma, and he built it for me one weekend from wood he already had and fitted it to the wall - it's even better than I'd imagined it would be."
Now, the surprisingly spacious, three-storey Kingfisher Cottage is Jo's charming country home that offers a kitchen diner full of character as well as wonderful cooking smells, a snug, and a cloakroom on the lower ground floor that opens into a glorious double-height garden room that offers views of the former exterior stone wall as well as the garden.
On the ground floor is a living room and bathroom and the first floor is home to two double bedrooms. As Jo uses the garden room as a dining room and extra lounge space there is scope for the lower ground floor snug to be a third bedroom if required.
For Jo's first major upgrade of a property there have been very few headaches but a lot of her heart has been poured into what she has created, a process she has thoroughly enjoyed aided by her background in art and design and inspired by trips around the world due to her career.
Jo said: "I studied art and I'm very visual so I can picture how I want things to look. I have travelled a lot with work and I get inspired by places I've stayed and I also love to look at interiors online or in magazines. I have done some artwork of the cottage itself, one picture hangs on the stone wall in the garden room. I did it in kingfisher colours to match the cottage name.
"I have a kingfisher theme running through the cottage to compliment the name of it, I couldn't resist doing that. And we even have a real kingfisher living on the brook that runs along the back of the cottage and two friendly ducks that visit every day."
During the work Jo was always mindful of making money saving choices where appropriate to keep the budget manageable and ensure that cash was allocated where needed first, and it included being creative.
Jo said: "I needed a big rustic dining table and found one online for £100 with four chairs and a bench seat but none of the wood in the set matched and the table top was badly stained with paint marks. I spent a day or two sanding the table and bench top, then I stained it all to match the chairs and then painted all the legs in my favourite Stonebreaker chalk paint.
"I collected driftwood from my many walks by the River Wye and I made a lovely rustic mirror frame for over the fireplace in the top lounge and put a wonderful chunky driftwood log upright on the turn of the staircase with a wooden kingfisher sat on top of it. Another gorgeous piece of driftwood is on the kitchen fireplace lintel."
Through the whole process, Jo said her confidence in her choices and decisions had grown and she had words of encouragement for anyone thinking of doing something similar to her property journey.
She said: "Do it. Don't wait, you won't regret it - it's the best thing I've ever done. I've learnt to plan and research as much as possible before starting each job, to listen to all advice and be gracious, but ultimately follow my own path and not worry about what others might prefer."
But Jo's move to Wales to update the cottage she fell in love with while she stayed there as a stealth guest has produced another love. Kingfisher Cottage is now on the market as Jo is moving in with her partner who she met while he was doing work on the house. Thanks to Kingfisher cottage not only has Jo found a partner she's also found a new passion - yes, she's been bitten by the property renovation bug that so many people succumb to, and that has no cure.
Jo said: "I don't feel this was an actual renovation project as the cottage was perfectly liveable when I moved here, so I'm not pretending to be a renovator yet. But I do plan to become one and this has given me the confidence to go for it. I've become passionate about the potential in old houses and I believe that every house that can be saved or made beautiful again is leaving a legacy to be enjoyed by generations to come."
Kingfisher Cottage in the village of Velindre near Hay-on-Wye and Brecon is on the market for £350,000 with Purplebricks, call them on 0800 810 8008 to find out more.
For more dream homes, renovation stories, interiors advice and property celebrity interviews, competitions and discounts too, get your copy of the NEW Amazing Welsh Homes glossy magazine - it's all Welsh, and it's all about people like you. Order the magazine here.
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