Originally planning on giving her home a full renovation, Anna Motts realised that DIY hacks and a lick of paint was enough to create a stylish, sociable space
Feature and styling Lisa Moses Photos David Giles
Welcoming cottage
‘This house was on the market for two years before we put an offer in,’ says Anna Motts. ‘I was already living locally when I met my partner, Andrew, and after eight years we decided to buy a place together. My daughter had left for university, but I wanted to stay in the area for my work. Whereas some people would have wanted to downsize, we went for a bigger property with a garage and a utility room.’
When it first came onto the market, Anna felt that it was over-valued, but later on they found out that the sellers had reduced the asking price, so they ended up taking a look. ‘We came to see it and I loved the garden, the house’s cottage style and the quiet location,’ says Anna. ‘So we decided to go for it.’
The house had already been extended, but the kitchen and bathroom were installed in 2003 and felt dated. In fact, the whole house needed redecorating, as the previous owners had a large dog and some of the rooms had marks on the walls. ‘We gave every room a quick lick of paint when we first moved in and then took some time to decide where to begin with the renovation,’ says Anna.
DARE TO DIY
‘We originally wanted to completely re-do the kitchen, but we then discovered more pressing jobs that needed our budget, such as the roof, which had to be replaced and was an expense we weren’t expecting.’ However, the couple felt that the kitchen needed a few urgent fixes to make it more functional. ‘There was a corner cabinet by the door that everyone bumped into, so we took that out. Also, the worktop protruded two feet further than it does now and my grandchildren kept bashing their heads on it, so we chopped that off. We lived with the space for a few years while other rooms took priority.’
Anna discovered Instagram during this time and she found it really inspiring. She admits that she hadn’t really considered doing budget renovations before discovering ideas on social media and until then had been planning to rip out the kitchen and bathroom and start again. ‘But seeing lots of clever hacks on social media gave me the confidence to give these rooms some simple DIY updates,’ she says.
The original kitchen cabinets were solid wood, but were a yellowy-orange, which Anna didn’t like, so she decided to paint them. ‘I’d seen people doing it online and it didn’t look too daunting,’ she explain
