Readers' favourite runner-up

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This house was your favourite runner-up in our online poll. Jane explains what work she and Toby have done:

‘When we purchased the house, two upstairs windows had cast iron window boxes, but unfortunately large pieces of the cast iron had rusted and fallen away and a fortnight after we moved in, the entire front section of one box crashed to the ground. Despite spending many hours sorting through the shattered pieces, I discovered it was going to be impossible to re-create. Consequently, the best available substitute was a rust-free alternative, made from recycled aluminium (My Windowbox), which doesn’t pose such a health and safety risk.

‘The metal work of the fence and gate have been painted with Craig & Rose metallic paint, Grate Black, as this gives a beautiful sheen that isn’t as starkly black and dull as proprietary metal paints. The front garden had ugly overgrown plants that obscured the house; we’ve replaced the deciduous bushes with the all-year-round greenery that box and bay provide. The front door is painted with Farrow & Ball exterior eggshell, Pitch Black. Eggshell is more sympathetic to old woodwork; modern gloss paints tend to show every lump and bump, which may be fine for a brand new door, but not for one with age and character.

‘The hallway and most of the downstairs was covered in cheap laminate flooring. A local antiques dealer informed us that the house was formerly known as the “Black and White House” due to a striking monochrome floor in the hallway. Upon pulling up the laminate we found the remnants of three or four tiles that couldn’t be salvaged; however, it seemed only natural to try to recreate this. (We also chose to put the geometric tiles into the breakfast room and the downstairs toilet.) To complete the hall, we installed a radiator cover and painted the glossy woodwork with heritage colour eggshell paint, Craig & Rose’s Regency White. Above the dado rail we used Crown’s Croquet, and below the dado rail, Craig & Rose’s Lincoln Green.

‘There was an old broken gas fire with a shabby 1980s fire surround in the sitting room. Having enjoyed a real fire in our last home we decided to install one here. The base was made with reclaimed terracotta tiles that were scrubbed up and sealed with a mixture of boiled linseed oil and white sprit. The walls had been painted yellow and the floor was laid with a mint green carpet, so the room felt like an ice cream parlour. We removed the carpet and stripped the floor, finishing the boards with wax, and we used gap seal tape (Draughtex) between the boards. The walls were treated to Craig & Rose flat matt Arabian Red below the dado rail and Venetian Red above.

‘In the kitchen, we removed the old brown cupboards, cheap worktops and out-dated tiles, which made the room look dark and small. We replastered the walls ourselves, but used an electrician to upgrade the wiring. The gas pipe was extended so that we could move the cooker to the back wall that unintentionally created the perfect fridge/sink/cooker triangle, but more importantly gave a large expanse of uninterrupted worktop space along the length of the kitchen wall. To make sure that we maximised the light we used Dulux Light & Space paint on the ceiling. For the walls, we used Farrow & Ball oil eggshell as this is breathable, and incredibly hard wearing. The large corner unit provides a display for my love of pottery, as does the shelving – we chose not to have any wall cupboards as after many years of collecting beautiful pottery, why hide it? The shelves were made from old scaffolding boards that we sanded and waxed; cast iron brackets purchased from a local foundry support them. Over time these have gained a slight rusty patina from the humidity; this has given them the age and character that we love.

‘The conservatory has a beautiful slate floor that we have worked hard to bring back to its former glory. We chose a simple table and benches, and the table settings were made with old slate floor tiles, cleaned and sealed then backed with felt. ‘Although we thought we had learnt a lot with our first Victorian house, compared to this house, it was just a training exercise. With this property we have found that we’ve developed our skills so much more: we’ve laid floors, installed fireplaces, plastered walls, sanded floors, built ponds, tiled walls, and wallpapered and painted until we thought our arms were so tired they would wither and drop off!! But it has been incredible fun and, of course, we adore living here now the work is done.’

Edited by Naomi Jones

Voting for this category has now ended - The Readers’ Favourite Runner-Up will be announced in the January issue of Period Living - on sale Thursday 25th November.

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