On reflection, Natalie and Ollie wonder whether it would have been better to demolish their pretty period cottage and start again, rather than endure two years of ‘ups and downs’ to renovate and extend it. ‘In hindsight it would certainly have been a lot easier,’ says Natalie. ‘We literally stripped it back to two walls. But we were keen to keep its integrity and build on what we could salvage, rather than create something brand new.’ Fortunately Natalie’s father is a builder and he was happy to devote every spare hour, over two years, on the extension and transformation of the tiny period cottage.
The previous owner had lived in the house all her life, for 95 years, and little had changed since the 1950s when it was last updated. Upstairs there were two small bedrooms divided by a makeshift wall made with papier mâché and battens. Downstairs there was a small sitting room with a tiny kitchen, barely big enough to house a cooker, sink and two cupboards, an even smaller utility and a pantry. The bathroom was in a lean-to.