Newly-weds Alice and James Malcolm Green had viewed 30 flats inside six weeks before they found the one they wanted to buy as their first property together as husband and wife. ‘It had been let for 15 years and had not been updated since the 1980s,’ says Alice. ‘The bathroom had just a shower, beige sanitaryware and a lino floor, and there were woodchip walls and Artex ceilings throughout the flat.’ The kitchen was also dated, with a Formica worktop, speckled white units and a lino floor, discoloured and torn from use. The rest of the flat was carpeted, ‘but very tired and cheap, the sort you lay for renting out a property,’ says Alice.
The dark grey sofa bed from Made and the black and cream floor rug from Ikea clearly define the living area. The print above the sofa is by David Spiller, and is called ‘Love the ones you Love’. ‘The builders constructed the wall unit which holds the TV and has plenty of storage so enables us to keep the space nice and tidy,’ says Alice
Far from being put off by the poor state of the property, Alice and James welcomed the prospect of being able to renovate the flat. ‘It meant we could put our own stamp on it,’ says Alice. ‘I have a diploma in design and James studied product design at Central Saint Martins art school in London, so between us we are creative with lots of ideas.’