Georgian house renovation

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The thoughtful room-by-room renovation of their Georgian family home is an absorbing project for artist Simon Casson and his wife Sheridan.

‘When we bought the property, the main house was in a real state,’ artist Simon Casson explains. Underneath all the painted woodchip paper, old carpets and heavy drapes was a multitude of problems. The main joists in the floors had rotted through, there was 1930s wiring, while the would-be art studio for Simon was being used as a garage, with the front completely open to the elements. The Georgian house’s interiors were dated too: the kitchen had probably been installed in the 1970s. The bathroom had an avocado suite; and around the sink was a chipboard surround that had, unsurprisingly, become rotten.

‘We started work on the studio first,’ his wife Sheridan explains, ‘because Simon’s art is our only source of income. All we did within the house during that time was to strip out the carpets and curtains, replace the joists and electrics, and lay laminate flooring downstairs. I also painted every room – with inexpensive Dulux emulsion in various shades that mimic heritage colours – and bought lots of toile curtains.

‘18 months later, the first room we were able to tackle properly was the bathroom,’ she continues. ‘We fitted a lovely traditional style basin and loo and a simple bathtub from Old Fashioned Bathrooms; Simon stripped the floor and replaced the louvred cupboard door with a country style one.’

In the kitchen, working around the original flooring and an old baker’s oven, the Cassons had solid wood units hand built, and installed a butler’s sink and a large range cooker.

Having swapped a small apartment for a large house, furnishing their new home has also happened slowly. Sheridan explains: ‘I’ve had to do an awful lot of shopping over the years, buying mostly from antiques shops and salerooms. I prefer dark wooden furniture and, as it’s been out of vogue for a while, I’ve managed to pick up some pieces exceptionally cheaply.’

Sheridan shares her renovating experience

‘I was very naïve when we first saw this house: I thought the work was just cosmetic, but once we moved in we realised it was more serious. We’d only done a little bit of DIY on our previous flat – laying wooden flooring and refitting the bathroom – so it was a renovation on a tiny scale compared to what was needed here.

‘I couldn’t bear to have one of those houses where everything is bought from the same shop; it can be very tastefully done, but it won’t have any personality. I hope that when people see this place they can figure out who lives here.

'As we’re here all the time, living and working, it’s got to be somewhere we like being all day; when you work from home like we both do it gets more and more important to be somewhere you love, surrounded by things you love.’

FEATURE NAOMI JONES STYLING SIAN WILLIAMS PHOTOGRAPHS BRENT DARBY
Featured in the March 2010 issue of Period Living