Some said it couldn’t be done, but Shanka and Walter Mesa Siverio transformed a period house with a striking feature at its heart
TIMELINE
HOMEOWNERS Shanka and Walter Mesa Siverio
PROJECT Renovation
LOCATION Worcester Park, Surrey
SIZE 65m2
BUILD TIME Six months
HOUSE COST £416,000
PROJECT COST £45,000
VALUE £520,000
Four years ago, Shanka and Walter Mesa Siverio sold their south London flat with a view to buying a house in the same area. However, Shanka was increasingly leaning towards a move to Surrey to be closer to family —even more so when they came across a terraced house in Worcester Park that had potential for renovation. “It’s not the area we were looking for at all, but I liked the street and we had a friend there who lived in a similar property,” says Shanka.
The location had the sense of community they sought and the house had lots of character, too, as well as being on one of the oldest streets in the town. Shanka and Walter weren’t fazed by the works and appreciated the unusual arrangement —being architects, they could see how to make it all work for them.
“When we first visited the property, you would come into the living room, and then there was a door into the kitchen,” says Shanka. “It was all very cellular, quite dark.” It had the typically traditional Victorian setup where you had to go through the kitchen to get to the downstairs bathroom.
The property clearly required a major overhaul as it was not only dated, with its 1970s decor, but it wasn’t practical for modern living. “The garden was in a real state, too. We actually tackled this first and hacked everything back,” says Shanka.
EMBRACING THE QUIRKS
The unconventional position of the staircase in the centre of the house intrigued the couple when they first visited the property. “The charm of the property is the quirkiness of the design,” says Shanka who carried on the unusual theme by customising the staircase in her own style. “If I’m completely honest, the stairs were designed around the idea of having plants, which Ilove.”
Upstairs on the first floor there are two double bedrooms, which proved to be perfect for the couple’s needs. They decided to live there and get to know the property before planning a new layout and starting works. Over a period of six months they were able to reflect on what they could do with the awkward spaces on a tight budget. “We started off with a £30,000 budget, but we increased it in order to be able to afford new windows and doors,” says Shanka. “Our front door is a relatively expensive one. We felt it was an important feature, and aside from making a good first impression, it’s essential for safety.”
