‘i love using unexpected colour combinations’

Quirky update

After living in London for nine years, Grace Halliday and Luke Morris decided to start a new chapter of their lives, 200 miles away in south Manchester. ‘We wanted a bigger house and a bit of a change,’ says Grace. ‘Some friends had moved to Manchester a few years prior and during lockdown we just decided to go for it.’ As an actress, who now works in freelance event management and oversees press junkets, Grace is used to travelling for work, so wasn’t fazed by a big move, and Luke could do his IT role from home. Having completely renovated their two-bedroom 1970s ex-council flat in Hackney, it sold within 24 hours and the pair could begin house hunting.

In their search for a three-bedroom Victorian house with a decent-sized garden, the couple viewed around 25 properties before finding their home in Chorlton. ‘It ticked a lot of boxes in terms of location, size and garden, and I loved that it still had the original fireplaces in two of the bedrooms,’ says Grace. ‘However, it had been completely modernised to sell – every wall was painted grey and I’m not a grey person.’

The big appeal for Luke was that it had new electrics, a new kitchen, and freshly plastered walls, so they could move in and make decorative changes gradually. Luckily, Luke’s brother, Adam, who owns Wall Panelling by AJ, was able to work on the house in the first few weeks, while the couple moved in with his parents in nearby Warrington. ‘He was amazing and removed all the carpets, reinstated picture rails and completely changed the heating system to cast-iron radiators,’ says Grace. ‘He must have saved us thousands of pounds.’

To make up for the lack of storage, alcove wardrobes were added to the two bigger bedrooms, along with alcove cabinetry in the living and dining room. As some of the floorboards had been patched over with hardwood then covered with carpet, th