The first chapter of Metcalfe Makeovers began back in 2008, when aged just 21, I bought my first home with my husband, Darren. Our 1950’s semi detached corner plot home ticked a lot of boxes. There were three bedrooms, a nice garden, garage and parking, and Midanbury seemed like a nice area. But, having been owned by an elderly lady for over 50 years, Ferndene was in need of a more up to date interior.
The only problem was, we had stretched ourselves to the full with the £159950 purchase price, and we didn’t have much of a budget for renovations. Still, we threw ourselves into renovating our first home, making use of what we already had, and picking up a whole host of skills along the way.
How we renovated our first home
When we moved into our first home, the kitchen was the original 1950s version – with an additional 1980’s cupboard front thrown in for good measure. I actually really liked it, especially the larder, so we decided that rather than spend out on a brand new kitchen, we would renovate what we already had.
We sanded back the cupboard doors and painted them with a high gloss paint, and added new handles. The old 80’s style cupboard on the left came out and made way for a fridge, and on the right we made our own cupboard front to compliment the existing ones, (although I don’t think we ever got round to putting the handle on!)
The creamy coloured worktops were swapped for black ones, and we added a small tiled splash back around the entire kitchen. Walls were painted with antique white kitchen and bathroom paint.
Originally, we swapped the old brown lino floor for a chequered black and white lino, partly for cost and partly because I thought it might be easier to clean. However, we found that it soon discoloured, so after a year of black and yellow lino, we tiled the floor with black and white Umbria floor tiles from B&Q (£10 per square meter) and the bigger squares in a diagonal form actually looked much better.
With Darren being a glazer by trade, we fitted a set of patio doors in place of the window, which we finished with blinds from the range which were less than £20 for the pair!
To make the lounge more homely, we removed the old gas fire and replaced it with a log burner, which was framed with a mantle piece that Darren’s stepdad had made before he passed away. We kept with the black and white theme, but found some bright red sofas through eBay, to add a splash of colour. We did soon learn that despite looking good, ‘pleather’ sofas are cold and uncomfortable… They were all we could afford at the time, though.
Upstairs, our black and white theme continued. To update our master bedroom, we knocked away the built in cupboards which instantly seemed to make the room much bigger. The walls were painted in antique white, with a black and white print feature wall, black curtains and black lights shades which we used throughout the house (ikea). We bought an Ikea Hemnes king size bed, and the Ikea Hermes 8 chest of drawer, which just happened to be on sale as an ex-display model the day we bought the bed fitted perfectly into one of the recesses. Sadly, the matching wardrobe was slightly too big, but we painted and lined a wardrobe which the previous owner had left behind with the black and white wallpaper, and added a trim to the top to make it match the drawers. We also bought a couple of spare handles to make it look even more authentic.
To make the hallway brighter, we kept the original banister, but removed the wooden panels which we swapped for toughened glass. The banister rails were painted with the leftover high gloss black paint from the kitchen.
The one thing I wasn’t so keen on in this house was the bathroom. Originally designed to be upstairs, the layout was changed at the last minute to make Ferndene a three bedroom house by moving the bathroom downstairs, and as such the bathroom was a bit of a squeeze. We decided to loose the bath (we didn’t have enough time to fill one up, anyway) and fitted a shower instead. The green tiles, which I’m sure most of the population of Southampton once had (can you see the chicken?) were replaced by painted (yup, antique white) walls with the shower and sink areas being tiled.
Before the renovation, the house had a small porch and second front door, which we extended, getting rid of the second front door, and installing a composite front door (again trade price as Darren owns buildmydoor.co.uk). It made such a difference both visually and practically! We also dug up the pretty gardens to make a driveway at the front of the property.
The garden at Ferndene was beautiful, obviously well nurtured and cared for. Something Darren and I had no idea how to continue, and quite frankly no time or interest to do so. As the house was at the top of a hill, the garden was on so many levels, and sectioned off in a number of places, so we hired a digger and set about to work… (But we did save the front garden, and hoped for the best!)
Five years after moving into Ferndene, a year after completing the renovations which left us with a beautifully finished home, we were itching for a new project. We put Ferndene on the market in 2013, and within just a few days she was sold. And we were actually a little sad.
Not that we had time to be sad. We had a new project to start. And what a project it was…..
