Page 45 - ESPC Magazine - September2021

AT HOME WITH...

You’ve documented your home renovations on
social media, but can you talk us through the
changes you’ve made to your home? When redecorating, we
The property was in really good condition, made a conscious effort
but we felt it would benefit from some
modernisation. The first thing we did was install to choose colours that
a new kitchen, transforming it from a U-shape felt true to the property’s
into a more traditional galley kitchen, which history; for instance, we
we felt was both more practical and more have a warm, bright yellow
sympathetic to the property’s age and style. in our living room, and a
rich teal in our bedroom.
We also developed our outdoor space; gardens
often come at a premium in Edinburgh, and it
seemed a shame that ours was covered in paving
slabs. We had a shed built, laid a lawn and built
a raised bed out of railway sleepers, which now
blooms with peonies and roses. What advice would you give to fellow
first-time buyers?
Last year, we replaced the flooring throughout, Be flexible in terms of your wants
switching from a dark purple carpet that ran and needs, it’s important to be open
through the bedroom, hallway and living room, to compromise. We didn’t have any
to engineered oak flooring with a cream berber intention of looking at one-bed
carpet for the bedroom. Everything feels much properties but now I can’t imagine us
cosier and lighter now, more like how it would having lived anywhere else, it’s been just
have been originally. the right size for us during this period of
our lives.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned so
far about renovating? What’s next for the property?
Always budget for things going wrong! When our We’re getting married next month, and
builders came to install the kitchen, we found after our current fixed term mortgage
out that it couldn’t be done without replacing the comes to an end in the spring, we’re
electrics, which we needed to factor in extra time hoping to put our home on the market
and budget for. It meant replastering certain and start the search for a three-bed family
areas too, which we had wanted to do, but not home to grow into. I’m sure our guests
necessarily just then. It all worked out in the end, will be relieved to no longer have to set up
but we now allow ourselves an extra 10% on the their blow-up bed on the living room floor!
budget, just in case. Though really, it’s all just part of the charm.

What is your favourite thing about your home?
There’s nothing quite like the light that comes
with an old property, and as an early bird, I love
watching it glisten through the windows first You can follow Louise’s interiors journey
thing with a cup of tea as the street wakes up. on Instagram @edinburghcolonies.

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