Our Homes Part 2 - Sarah's House

In this blog we move on from Kate's house to take a look inside Sarah's house (you can read the post about Kate's house here if you missed it)

Sarah has recently moved into her new home after almost two years of living with the folks while extensive remodelling took place. Sarah had been living in a 3 bedroomed semi but the time had come to move due to her expanding family (she has five kids. Yes, five!). So she bought... a 3 bedroomed semi!

However, Sarah and her partner Ryan could see that this new house had the potential to be converted into a five bedroomed family home, with an extra room in the attic meaning her children could each have a room of their own.

The work required was extensive and involved a bit of a frustrating wait while the planning process chugged on. This was needed to approve an extension to incorporate a large, open plan kitchen and living area, as well as a separate utility room - a godsend for a family of that size.

Eventually the work could begin. The house was pretty much stripped back to a shell, with the majority of work being handled by Ryan, a carpenter by trade, in around his other work commitments (you can see more of his work on Instagram or Facebook) 

Molly inspecting the foundation trench for the extension

Sarah had definite ideas of how she wanted the space to look and work, with dark grey featuring as a key colour throughout. We describe her style as 'dark and stormy'!

Sarah was a bit concerned she was overusing her favourite paint colour, Farrow and Ball's Downpipe, but with all the space and light in the house, the deep, dark neutral adds drama without feeling oppressive and there is a real feeling of continuity as you move around the house.

The main living area works perfectly for the family, with room to watch TV and play on the Xbox, sit around the large family table to eat and do homework, or perch at the island with friends of an evening. Sarah has incorporated a workspace area for doing the household admin and has added some occasional pieces of furniture for extra storage space.

There were, of course, lots of compromises to be made along the way: large kitchen sink, or small sink and a wine fridge? The wine fridge won!

And Sarah is saving up for a two-way woodburner to go into an alcove that divides the sitting area from the kitchen which had to remain for structural reasons.

Bifold doors open out from the kitchen onto a large muddy patch, but this will eventually become a patio area leading to lawn, completing the ground floor inside and out.

We will do a post in the future focusing on the kids' bedrooms but in the meantime keep an eye out for our Get The Look style guide to Sarah's house, coming soon.