The renovation began upstairs when Paul was on furlough leave during the pandemic. He converted a small, disused space that must be passed through to get to the master bedroom into an oak-lined dressing room.
By the time they were ready to begin work downstairs, he was back at his day job and the renovation slowed down. Not least because almost all the doors and windows had to be knocked out and repositioned to let light into their home.
Jane said: “We lived without doors and windows from February to June. We back onto woods so foxes would stray into the house at night.”
It took the builders three months to complete the reconfiguration and plaster the walls before the couple took over. Jane took charge of the design of their home while Paul dealt with the practical tasks. Any job that wasn’t carpentry, such as the tiling and flooring, was self taught from watching YouTube videos.
Aside from seeing design ideas from fellow renovators on Instagram, they took inspiration from the grand homes that Paul works in and turned them into budget-friendly alternatives.
The couple have amassed a large following on their renovatingnumber174 Instagram account, sharing their home DIY and budget friendly tips.
In the four years they’ve lived at the property, thanks to house price inflation and the couple’s hard work, they have had an estimated valuation of between £780,000 and £810,000 – an increase of up to £224,000.
They remodelled the downstairs layout by cutting the lounge, which originally ran from the front to the back of the house, in half. The kitchen, separated by black pocket doors, is situated at the back of the former lounge.
