SHROPSHIRE HOUSE
An elegant Edwardian home in Shropshire boasts a serene interior, enriched with French vintage charm, curated art and a cutting garden that is a riotous cornucopia of colour
Transforming ahouse into ahome is an evolutionary process, so when Jane Davies and her husband Martin purchased this pretty period property in the market town of Oswestry in 2002, they knew it would change in the years ahead. With three children, ranging in age from two months to six years, any house destined to be their forever home had to deliver big, even if it meant moving in and promptly moving out again for essential works to be done.
‘The whole house needed rewiring and gas heating installed,’ explains Jane, ‘so we had to move out for acouple of weeks for all the floorboards to be taken up. It was amess and very stressful with three young children!’ But she had been bowled over by the property’s period features, and knew the disturbance would be worth it.
‘We loved the original stained-glass windows at the front, the front door and the original staircase in the hallway,’ she says. Alarge garden, full of potential, sealed the deal.
Jane and Martin took aslow but meticulous approach to updating each room, using their time and funds carefully. ‘We had to strip all the wallpaper as the whole house needed replastering, which we did as and when we had time,’ Jane says. One of the most striking improvements is in the hallway, where the couple discovered the original pine parquet and tiled floor while ripping out the old bright red carpet. ‘The parquet had been stained black so we stripped it back and I painstakingly cleaned the tiles, which took forever as they had layers of black carpet glue that was so stubborn to remove. It took weeks of time and patience,’ she says, reminiscing about the level of dedication involved. Replacement tiles were sourced at local salvage yards to fill the gaps and the floor was restored to its original glorious form.
A conservatory was added to enhance what was acramped kitchen, somewhat diminutive in size and unworkable in many ways. ‘It was difficult to fit five people around the table, so we knocked through an external kitchen window and built the conservatory onto the kitchen. The conservatory also linked to the living room, which created a marvellous sense of space and natural light in the house. It has been great for parties over the years, too!’ Today, the house is ahaven for Jane’s l
