‘this house comes into itsownatchristmas’

Finding a property with potential played a big part in Rebecca and Lee Rutland’s search for a new home, but that also meant taking on a place that required some work. ‘I can safely say that this house was an absolute wreck when we bought it,’ recalls Rebecca. ‘It was barely liveable, but we fell in love with the spacious rooms, large garden and bay windows. Luckily, I was completely naive to how much work it actually needed and how long it would all take, as if I’d known what I was getting myself into we may not have bought it, which would have been a mistake.’

Built in the 1960s, the house was in a bad state of repair and the couple spent time restoring – and in some cases replacing – every single part of it, from the skirting boards to the internal doors. The biggest undertaking, however, was knocking down the wall between the dining room and kitchen to create a larger space. This meant turning the dining room window into double French doors and bricking up the old back door to create a new layout that would work much better for family life.

‘We spend a lot of time in the kitchen and wanted a warm, open place for day-to-day use and entertaining. Bricking up the old back door gave us extra cupboard space in what is quite a small kitchen, and changing the dining room window into our new doorway added much more light.’

Despite the success of the kitchen, the couple admit to being daunted by the scope of work needed. ‘I remember feeling very overwhelmed when we got the keys and looked around, knowing it was ours,’ explains Rebecca. ‘It’s all taken a very long time, as the work was carried out in our evenings, weekends and annual leave.’

Professionals were called in to do a handful of jobs, such as replacing the windows and boiler, as well as installing the kitchen worktop, while Rebecca and Lee took on other jobs themselves. ‘We did a lot of filling and sanding as we couldn’t afford a plasterer, and we even restored the floorboards in three of the up