EDWARDIAN DETACHED
Taking their time at the planning stage of a major renovation gave Becks and Martin Huntley the chance to make the best use of their space
We almost didn’t view this house,’ says Becks, ‘as it was right at the top of our budget and three times bigger than our previous place. We’d bought a small terraced house in Leeds during our twenties before renting it out when we moved to London for eight years.
Then, when our first son Sam was born, we returned to Leeds and lived there temporarily. However, a detached house with a large garden was the ultimate dream.
It had to be in the right location, near to good schools and within a certain radius of the hospital for Martin being on call as a doctor.
Looking ahead
This house ticked all our boxes but had been on the market for over a year and required some serious vision. It had been let out, felt really dark and the skirting boards had been chewed by dogs!
The property’s biggest flaw, though, was two ill-thought-out extensions that had left the kitchen completely boxed in, with the only natural light coming via an internal window from the utility room.
If I’m honest, the only thing I liked was the sitting room ceiling, but we were happy to get a doer-upper and max out our budget in order to get the long-term house we wanted.
Pause for thought
We moved in in September 2016 and our first task was painting every wall white. It gave us a blank canvas so we could really think about our choices over time. Consequently, the first floor was renovated first, while we saved up to reconfigure the tricky ground floor. It was a blessing in disguise as wechanged our minds a few times about the layout.
For instance, we considered putting the kitchen nearer the garden doors, having an office where the utility room is now
