OPEN AND AIRY TRANSFORMATION
By opening up a disjointed layout, Alice and Tim have unlocked the potential of their 1930s home without the need for a costly extension
Stanbury units in Cobham Blue and sink, DIY Kitchens. Worktops, Granite & Marble Shop, Stockport. Stools, Cult Furniture
Rangemaster range cooker, Ebay
PROFILE
THE ownerS Alice Hawkins, who has an interior design business (alteriorliving.com), lives here with her partner, Tim Dobbing, a solicitor, and their cockapoo, Bertie THE PROPERTY A 1930s semi-detached house in Altrincham, Greater Manchester
PROJECT COST £50,000
COSTS & CONTACTS
Building work £19,800 Rewiring and plumbing £10,000 Kitchen £8,000 Windows and front door £6,500 Bathroom £5,000 Shutters £700
Kitchen DIY Kitchens, diy-kitchens.com Bathroom tiles Mandarin Stone, mandarinstone.com Fitted wardrobes Lymm Fitted Furniture, lymmfittedfurniture.co.uk
After renting a flat with friends in London for four years, the time was right for Alice and Tim to move to the North West. At the time, all their friends were moving away from the capital, and Alice wanted to be closer to her dad in Liverpool, as he was terminally ill. To get a feel for the area before putting down roots, the couple rented a two-bedroom Victorian terraced house in Altrincham for a year.
Sadly, both Alice and Tim lost their dads within months of each other. They used their inheritance to purchase a three-bedroom 1930s semi with bags of potential in the same area. Being furloughed during lockdown gave Alice time to work on it, and discovering they had a builder living next door was a major bonus.
As Alice grew up in a small village in Italy where her parents ran a restaurant, she was influenced by the colours of the mountains, with shades of deep greens and warm neutrals. It was in Italy that Alice met Tim 10 years ago, when he was working as a guide on his gap year. Together the pair have turned this ugly duckling house, with its disjointed layout, into a beautiful home that connects with the gar
