Period cottage renovation
With a nostalgic colour palette and a treasure trove of thrift-shop finds, Sian transformed her young family’s Sussex cottage into a cosy and inviting home
PROFILE
THE ownerS Social worker Sian Moran (@renovatingthepinkhouse) lives here with her husband, Eddy, their daughter, Rose, and two cats, Edith and Albert
THE PROPERTY A three-bedroom endterrace cottage built in 1907 on the outskirts of Lewes, East Sussex
Apassion for collecting vintage furniture and accessories saved Sian Moran a fortune when she was decorating her first home. ‘I started collecting retro homewares at car boot sales about 15 years ago when I was a student,’ she explains. ‘At the time, I was living in a rented flat in Brighton and money was tight. Shopping second hand was one of the ways I could afford to decorate my home. I brought many of these pieces with me when we moved into this cottage, and, over time, I’ve added more collectables from the 1960s and 1970s.’
When Sian and her husband, Eddy, started looking to buy their first house, they had to search further afield than Brighton to be able to afford a place with a garden. Sian spent a year on Rightmove looking at properties before she found this place. ‘When this cottage came up for sale, I was really excited by it. After 12 months of house hunting, I knew it was a steal. We saw it the following day and put in an offer straight away.’
Previously owned by an elderly lady, the interior of the cottage hadn’t been touched since the 1980s. There was a cluttered pine kitchen, wallto-wall green carpet, floral curtains and ugly pastel walls. The top bedroom was taken over by an outdated boiler and large water tank. Luckily, the house was in good condition structurally.
As soon as they moved in, the couple started building works to knock the house into shape. ‘We knew it needed work but were clueless as to the scale of what we were undertaking,’ Sian says.
‘Unfortunately, I’m not very good at DIY but my husband is handy. It was gruelling work as we were living in during the renovations with no hot water, electricity or kitchen for months on end.’
Within a few months of moving in, Sian found out she was pregnant with their daughter, which put immense pressure on the couple to get the renovations done with a baby on the way. ‘As I was pregnant I couldn’t be as hands on as I wished with the gritty work,’ she says. ‘Luckily, family stepped in to help us. I repeatedly told our plumber and builder my due date so that th
