LINCOLNSHIRE COTTAGE
Becky Eades poured her heart and soul into this former blacksmith’s cottage, turning it into a bright, pretty home for her family
She had resisted stepping into the dated, derelict cottage for almost a year, but when Becky Eades finally set up a viewing, she realised that the property was exactly what she wanted – and didn’t want – in equal measure. ‘After completing our first house renovation, the last thing my husband and I were after was another project,’ Becky says.
The couple’s first home had been perfect for them and daughter, Iona. But when Becky found out she was expecting their second child, Fyfe, in 2016, she knew they would soon outgrow it. Spotting the larger, dilapidated property online, Becky had concerns about the amount of work required. ‘Despite continuing to house-hunt, nothing ticked all the boxes, and I’d often find myself taking a little detour to see whether that cottage was still on the market,’ she reveals.
Noticing that the price had dropped, the couple decided to take a closer look. ‘The whole place was covered in Virginia creeper when we first visited,’ she recalls. ‘We could hardly get through the front door. But even though it was dark, riddled with damp, and in a much sorrier state than anticipated, all I could see was potential. I felt the cottage had been waiting for me and that I had to rescue it.’
With their offer accepted, the family moved in during June 2017. ‘It was pretty overwhelming, especially as I was juggling two young children, my job, and the project,’ says Becky. ‘The cottage hadn’t been touched since the 1970s. The kitchen was old-fashioned, the carpets were burgundy, there was dark panelling, a pale-brown bathroom, and all the rotten windows and doors needed replacing,’ she adds.
To transform their gloomy acquisition into the bright, modern country home that Becky envisaged, the first job was to damp-proof the ground floor. ‘We ended up living upstairs and using what is now the children’s playroom as a temporary kitchen, complete with a camping stove,’ says Becky. In September, a friend came to live with the family for several weeks to help them tackle the next stage of the renovation. ‘It was all hands on deck,’ Becky explains. ‘We stripped the cottage and rejigged the kitchen layout to gain better access to the utility room and back garden b
