‘My partner and I were living in a flat, but we were unhappy with the location. So, we decided to move back in with my parents, storing all our possessions in their garden shed, so we could save up to buy a house in an area that we loved. Our new cottage is set on a quiet country lane, and it feels magical to live here.
We got the keys to this property in September 2022, and we started on the renovations immediately. The interior had been painted in black and brown hues, which made it feel very small.
With the help of our families, we spent long evenings and weekends knocking this house into shape. It was so tiring but worth the effort.
- 'I went to Florida and came home with an unexpected idea for my house'
- ‘The bathroom floor was on my driveway!’ – The SHOCKING discovery that resulted in a stunning makeover
We started by pulling up all the carpets and lino and knocking out the fireplace brickwork. Then, we pulled down walls upstairs so that we could turn the separate WC and shower room into a larger bathroom. Hours were spent stripping wallpaper and peeling thick layers of paint off the skirting boards! We would dump the debris into our front garden, then load it up into James’s van and take it to the tip.
Over the next two months, we installed a new bathroom, updated all the floors, replaced all the windows with uPVC sash ones, installed new radiators, and fitted a wood-burning stove in the lounge. We went over budget with our renovations, so shelved the idea of replacing the kitchen – instead, my dad and I gave it a £600 budget makeover, replacing the floor, worktop and tap. We renovated the whole house in about four months!
When it came to styling, I went for a colourful, modern country look. I wanted to bring some of the natural world into our home with floral prints, animal motifs and soft pastel shades. I love styling the space to reflect the seasons. Our home fills me with joy, and it makes me feel safe and cosy.’
Welcome to my home...
A bit about me I’m Lilly Wells, 28, and I’m a watercolour artist at lovelilly.art and on Instagram @lillyswatercolours. I live here with my fiancé James Robinson, 31, an electrician, and our two exotic shorthair cats Tommy and Rupert.
Where I live We’ve lived in our 1920s, two-bedroom terraced cottage near St Albans in Hertfordshire since 2022.
Kitchen
The original kitchen had a dark brown lino floor, yellowing pine cupboards, and was packed with ancient appliances. ‘We were quoted around £30k to replace the kitchen, which was eye-wateringly expensive!’
Lilly says. ‘As the original units were good quality, we decided to work with what we had. All we needed was a bit of imagination and love to make them look like new.’
Lilly gave the existing units a coat of specialist kitchen cupboard paint, then sealed them to make sure the paint finish was durable.
As the appliances were beyond salvaging, the bulk of Lilly’s budget went on replacing them, as well as changing the worktop, installing a ceramic sink and new tap. ‘It only took me and my dad five days to do and cost under £600!’
A bit more about my home...
What I wanted to change My partner and I were both totally up for the challenge of renovating this cottage.
It had been decorated in dark brown paint shades that made the place feel claustrophobic, so we knew it would instantly be improved by freshening up the interior colour scheme. We wanted to replace the kitchen, but were unsure if our budget would stretch, and we needed to play around with the layout on the first floor so we could create a family-sized bathroom up there.
We also needed to replace all the single-glazed windows and the draughty front door. Although the cottage was structurally in good shape, it needed a lot of hard work to turn this house into a home.
How I made it my own Calling on the help of family and friends, we renovated this place from top to bottom. First, we knocked out the fireplace in the living room and ripped up all the carpets. We also knocked down walls upstairs to create a larger bathroom. James tackled the electrics and the plumbing, while my dad and I upcycled the kitchen. Once we’d finished decorating inside our home, I invested in furniture and accessories that would complement our modern country look, and added personal touches to each room with wallpaper and art.
My favorite part It has to be our bathroom, as most days I love having a soak in the tub. I styled the room with plants and colourful accessories to pick out the colours in the tiles. It feels so relaxing in there, especially when I light a scented candle in the evenings.
Dining area
The couple ripped up the original lino and found a concrete floor underneath, so decided to add some pattern by tiling over it. ‘The old staircase needed restoration work, including replacing the spindles and installing a new banister.
Then, we carpeted the stairs right up onto the landing and leading into the bedrooms,’ says Lilly. She’s added a fun touch with a multicoloured striped wallpaper to match the artwork – Lust Home’s That 70’s Stripe in Ochre, Rose Pink and Teal.
‘The nook under the stairs had already been opened up, so it was the ideal spot for this compact dining table which I bought from Next,’ she says.
Lilly paired it with mix and match velvet dining chairs in duck egg blue and blush pink, two of her signature shades.
Living room
‘This room was the last one we tackled. The original fireplace had been bricked up, so we had to smash out an opening and then tile inside,’ says Lilly.
‘We fitted an oak mantel beam above for that country cottage look and chose wood-effect floor tiles, as I like that they feel cool underfoot during the summer months.’ Lilly’s best buy was her cream log burner: ‘It was an ex-display and had a small chip, so I got it for half price!’
The most significant change, though, came when the couple saved up to have a porch installed in January 2023. ‘The old front door opened directly into the living room, and it had a huge gap under it so we could feel a constant draught,’ explains Lilly.
‘We wanted a little area where you can take your shoes off, rather than walking straight into the living space. It made the room feel so much bigger once it was built.’
Main bedroom
Lilly’s vision for this room was to turn it into a calm retreat packed with floral prints – a far cry from its original decor.
‘The bedroom had red walls with dodgy light fittings, dirty cream carpets and a tiny old wardrobe squeezed into one of the alcoves. It wasn’t a nice space to sleep in at all,’ she says.
The couple had new windows installed first, then pulled out the old wardrobe and light fittings. James fitted spotlights, and Lilly painted the room white with a blush feature wall.
Above her bed, Lilly hung one of her own watercolour paintings. ‘I took inspiration from the colours in the artwork for the accessories,’ she says.
Bathroom
Originally, there was a separate WC and shower room, which were positioned at opposite ends of the landing. ‘Having separate bathrooms wasn’t practical, and they felt gloomy,’ Lilly explains.
By knocking down walls in the bedrooms, the couple were able to reconfigure the layout to create a single, bigger bathroom.
The bottle-green metro wall tiles were inspired by a Victorian pub Lilly visited in London. ‘I then chose multicolour mosaic tiling for the floor so that I could pick out the colours with accessories, plants and towels.’
Although it was a major change, the couple only spent £1,000 on their bathroom makeover. ‘It came in that cheap because we did the bulk of the work ourselves,’ reveals Lilly. ‘We bought the fittings from affordable places and shopped the sales to find bargains.’
Feature Maxine Brady Photography Colin Poole
Read more:
- ‘It’s nicer than any hotel room I’ve stayed in!’ – How one owner created a high-end look with high-street buys
- This Interior Design Masters contestant used the most ingenious IKEA hack in her own kitchen
- They thought most of the work would be cosmetic, but they had no idea what was hiding when they moved in
