The owners of this mid-terrace, three-bed house in County Durham have lived there for 17 years. The couple, a teacher and IT worker bought the house just after they got married.
'We took two steps inside and just knew it was for us, even though it needed a lot of work. We'd just got married and neither of us had any experience of renovating houses.'
There was woodchip everywhere, which took ages to remove and the colour schemes were quite dated, but they loved its character and could see the potential of the house. 'Once we started removing the wallpar we knew we'd need to re-skim all the walls as big chunks of plaster were falling off.'
The kitchen needed the most work, so about eight years ago the owners built an extension to create a large kitchen-diner. 'Looking back, it was definitely the rght decision as this space is lovely and light, with French windows opening out to the garden plus two skylights above,' they say.
The open-plan space is perfect for the family to get together and they spend most of their time in there. 'When it came to the decor I wanted a neutral backdrop tos the rooms would flow well together.'
The owners have used white throughout their home, which makes it easy to move things around or introduce accent colours for a different look.
1/10 Terraced house
'Although we orginally thought we'd only be here for about five years or so, we've actually stuck around for 17! The more we worked on the place, the more we grew to love it and it became harder t even think about letting it go.'
2/10 Hallway
The radiator cover in the couple's hallway is a great surface for seasonal displays. It gives the room character and means unslightly radiators can be hidden away.
Radiator cover
B&Q
Similar star decorations
Notonthehighstreet.com
3/10 Hallway
The owners did a lot of work to transform their home to give it an up-to-date modern feel.
'When we stripped and varnished the original floorboards, they started to turn orange, so we painted them white for a Scandi look.'
Paint
Farrow & Ball
Similar Christmas decorations
Next
4/10 Living room
To give the living room a cosy vibe the couple have used lots of texture, layering up throws and cushions for a snuggly feel. 'There's nothing better than curling up on the sofa with our cosy cushions and throws.'
Cushions
Next
Throws
Next
5/10 Fireplace
The couple have kept lots of period features in their home, they installed a classic recalimed fireplace. They have kept the scheme white throughout their home, mixing in accent colours to give it personality.
Similar armchair
Made.com
Similar dresser
eBay
6/10 Dining area
By extending the back of the house the owners have been able to create a large open-plan space, perfect for hosting Christmas. 'Our crockery was a wedding present from House of Fraser and always comes out for Christmas dinner.'
Crockery
House of Fraser
Similar chairs
Cult Furniture
7/10 Bedroom
In this bedroom the couple created a subtle feature wall using this beautiful patterned wallpaper, they painted the fireplace white to match the bed.
Similar bed
Laura Ashley
Wallpaper
Cole & Son
8/10 Bedroom
In this bedroom the couple gave it a restful look. 'We went for a calssic bedstead from Archers and have added touches of blue to the pared-back scheme.'
Similar picture rail
Ikea
Bed
Archers
9/10 Children’s room
For their daughter's bedroom the couple have used lots of bright colours at her request, to make it a cheeful space. The bunting can easily be made from remnants of fabric and stitched together.
Similar fabric
Ikea
Similar pom pom lights
Notonthehighstreet.com
10/10 Bathroom
The bathroom is a simple white scheme but the owners brought it to life with a hint of colour. 'Putting a towel rail higher up on the wall makes the most of a tight space.'
Similar towels
Dunelm
Similar sign
Dotcomgiftshop
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