My Houzz: How We Revamped Our Damp Victorian Home
Interior stylist Emily Stratton thought decorating her family’s new home would be easy, but the house had other plans...
Amanda Pollard
10 May 2018
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors and architecture.
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors... More
When Emily Stratton and her family bought their Victorian house, they’d planned to simply extend and redecorate. What they hadn’t banked on, however, was the damp that had crept into every area of the property. “We thought it would be a straightforward project, but it had really bad damp,” Emily recalls. “We had to gut the whole place, which resulted in a full house renovation.”
Take a look at these before and after photos to see the stylish transformation.
Shop the look: Find all the furniture and accessories to help you recreate the style of this cool family home in one place
Take a look at these before and after photos to see the stylish transformation.
Shop the look: Find all the furniture and accessories to help you recreate the style of this cool family home in one place
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Interior stylist Emily Stratton of Fallowgrey, with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son
Location Kingston Upon Thames, London
Property A Victorian house
Size 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Emily’s house is a typical Victorian property – beautiful, but built with little insulation. Subsequent owners had tried to warm the place up with tricks, such as installing sealed uPVC windows. However, as buildings need to breathe, the lack of ventilation had caused severe damp problems.
“We moved into a friend’s granny annexe for five months while the builders got to work,” says Emily. “They had to lower the ground level on the outside of the house to allow more ventilation, and insulate the walls. We also changed all the windows to ones with vents.”
Who lives here Interior stylist Emily Stratton of Fallowgrey, with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son
Location Kingston Upon Thames, London
Property A Victorian house
Size 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Emily’s house is a typical Victorian property – beautiful, but built with little insulation. Subsequent owners had tried to warm the place up with tricks, such as installing sealed uPVC windows. However, as buildings need to breathe, the lack of ventilation had caused severe damp problems.
“We moved into a friend’s granny annexe for five months while the builders got to work,” says Emily. “They had to lower the ground level on the outside of the house to allow more ventilation, and insulate the walls. We also changed all the windows to ones with vents.”
“The kitchen extension was the first room we tackled. We increased the space by four metres and turned it into a big kitchen-diner,” Emily says.
“We went for traditional Shaker-style units we could paint, as we wanted them to tie in with the character of the house,” Emily adds.
“Funnily enough, colour was one of the hardest things to decide. There were too many options. I’d originally gone for a lighter grey, but it was too wishy-washy and we had to do a last-minute change.”
The island holds an undermounted sink with an aged-brass tap, as well as a dishwasher, integrated bins and storage cupboards.
Kitchen supplied and fitted by Brayer Design. Kitchen units painted in Mid Lead, Little Greene.
Find kitchen designers and fitters in your area
“Funnily enough, colour was one of the hardest things to decide. There were too many options. I’d originally gone for a lighter grey, but it was too wishy-washy and we had to do a last-minute change.”
The island holds an undermounted sink with an aged-brass tap, as well as a dishwasher, integrated bins and storage cupboards.
Kitchen supplied and fitted by Brayer Design. Kitchen units painted in Mid Lead, Little Greene.
Find kitchen designers and fitters in your area
“We also had a false chimney breast and mantel built to look like part of the original house,” Emily says. “It’s where the original fireplace would have been.”
The kitchen designers suggested a configuration of symmetrical cupboards and a central island, which left the back wall free and easy to navigate around.
Metro tiles, Fired Earth. Pendant lights, Period Property Store. Black-framed doors, PD Ackland Metal Windows.
The kitchen designers suggested a configuration of symmetrical cupboards and a central island, which left the back wall free and easy to navigate around.
Metro tiles, Fired Earth. Pendant lights, Period Property Store. Black-framed doors, PD Ackland Metal Windows.
A run of cupboards opposite the island is set out like a dresser, with wall cabinets that concertina open. On the right is a larder cupboard, and on the left is an integrated fridge-freezer.
The 20mm-thick granite worktop looks neat and modern.
Discover grey designs for every room in the Houzz Shop
The 20mm-thick granite worktop looks neat and modern.
Discover grey designs for every room in the Houzz Shop
The old kitchen had double uPVC doors. The back wall of the new extension is now fitted with an almost wall-to-wall black-framed aluminium design. “We wanted to let in as much light as possible, but didn’t want the thick frames of bifold doors,” Emily explains.
“To maintain the homely feel of the space, we went for a bench seat in the dining area,” Emily says. “The kitchen company made this for us with storage underneath. I recently painted it in a blue-black colour.”
Emily also painted the legs of the pine farmhouse dining table to match the kitchen. “The chairs are a mix of inherited Ercol ones and more modern designs,” she says.
Bench seat painted in Bond Street, Mylands.
Emily also painted the legs of the pine farmhouse dining table to match the kitchen. “The chairs are a mix of inherited Ercol ones and more modern designs,” she says.
Bench seat painted in Bond Street, Mylands.
In the living room, the couple laid the same engineered oak flooring that runs throughout the house. They also restored the fireplace. “The original one was 1980s fake marble with a wood-burning stove that didn’t work,” Emily says. “We found an old Victorian fireplace and had a wooden surround put in.”
Walls painted in Tempest, Fired Earth.
Discover the items you never knew you needed in your living room
Walls painted in Tempest, Fired Earth.
Discover the items you never knew you needed in your living room
A ‘before’ photo shows the neutral living space with its old fireplace and broken stove.
“The fitted cupboards were made by the building company,” says Emily. “We originally left the shelves white, but they jarred with the dark blue, so we made the decision to paint it all the same colour.
“We got the old photography lamp from an antiques dealer who specialises in restoring vintage lighting,” she adds.
Photography lamp, Kempton Park Racecourse Antiques Market.
“We got the old photography lamp from an antiques dealer who specialises in restoring vintage lighting,” she adds.
Photography lamp, Kempton Park Racecourse Antiques Market.
The mirror is a similar style to the kitchen doors, which helps to keep the design flowing through the house.
As part of the renovation, the loft was converted into a master bedroom and en suite bathroom. “We wanted the windows in here to match the kitchen, but needed to keep the budget down,” Emily says. “The builders sourced these – they’re slightly cheaper, but are a similar design.”
A glass Juliet balcony allows light to flow into the space. “The large windows prevent the loft from feeling too enclosed,” she adds.
A glass Juliet balcony allows light to flow into the space. “The large windows prevent the loft from feeling too enclosed,” she adds.
“The room now feels very open, like a greenhouse, so we continued this with a botanical print at the window,” Emily says. “This became the focal point of the room.
“It was really challenging to hang the curtains in the awkward space, so my mum and I did some research,” she says. “We figured out it would work with battens along the slanted ceiling, and we used very thick Velcro to attach the fabric so it matches the line of the room. There’s a lot of fabric, and it’s held away from the window on these wooden hold-backs.”
“It was really challenging to hang the curtains in the awkward space, so my mum and I did some research,” she says. “We figured out it would work with battens along the slanted ceiling, and we used very thick Velcro to attach the fabric so it matches the line of the room. There’s a lot of fabric, and it’s held away from the window on these wooden hold-backs.”
“We really wanted a white wooden floor in this room,” Emily says, “but to keep the budget down, we found these old scaffolding planks on eBay and painted them white.”
Walls painted in Lamp Room Gray, Farrow & Ball. Throw on bed from fabric from Manuel Canovas.
Walls painted in Lamp Room Gray, Farrow & Ball. Throw on bed from fabric from Manuel Canovas.
In the bathroom, the couple added wood panelling to the walls and chose a Victorian-style freestanding bath. There’s also a separate shower in the opposite corner of the room. The floor is covered with marble tiles. “As they’re natural stone, we have to be careful with them,” Emily says.
Bath, Period House Store; painted in Lamp Room Gray, Farrow & Ball. Panelling painted in Inox, Little Greene.
Bath, Period House Store; painted in Lamp Room Gray, Farrow & Ball. Panelling painted in Inox, Little Greene.
“I originally wanted to find an old piece of furniture for the basin and customise it,” Emily says. “However, we ended up buying a cheap new vanity unit. We painted it to match the bath and changed the knobs, and now it looks just as nice.”
Vanity unit and basin, Soak.com.
Vanity unit and basin, Soak.com.
“In our daughter’s room, we took all the carpets out and had the flooring sanded and painted white to keep it fresh,” Emily says. “The wardrobes are from my parents’ house – we painted them an off-white and changed the knobs, and amazingly they fitted in the alcoves.”
“To add a bit of fun, we painted the fireplace, a chair and a chest of drawers bright yellow,” Emily says.
“I had this chest of drawers as a child,” she adds. “We sanded it down, gave it a new lick of paint and changed the knobs.”
The couple found the bed on eBay. “There were a lot of layers of paint on it, so we stripped it back and painted it white.” The shelf was put up by the builders, and the couple painted it the same dark tone as the walls.
Walls painted in Tempest, Fired Earth.
The couple found the bed on eBay. “There were a lot of layers of paint on it, so we stripped it back and painted it white.” The shelf was put up by the builders, and the couple painted it the same dark tone as the walls.
Walls painted in Tempest, Fired Earth.
In the second bedroom, the couple had alcove cupboards fitted either side of the original fireplace. “The fireplace was already there, but we had it spray-painted black to make it look more Victorian,” Emily explains.
Walls painted in Oratory, Mylands.
Walls painted in Oratory, Mylands.
The colour scheme in here is charcoal grey and blush pink. To warm up the north-facing room, the couple covered the floor with a tight-knot, grey wool carpet.
Blind fabric, Cloth House. Quilt, Bedeck Home.
Tell us…
What do you like about Emily’s family home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Blind fabric, Cloth House. Quilt, Bedeck Home.
Tell us…
What do you like about Emily’s family home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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Very nice. What would be your first port of call in this instance? Would you seek builders advice first, maybe a kitchen designer or an architect to garner ideas?
We really enjoyed being a part of this project, creating and installing the bespoke kitchen. And what an incredible overall transformation too! A beautiful and well-thought out family home - well done, Emily.
It's beautiful I would move in in a heartbeat! Great taste. Love the crittall style doors from the dining area to the garden. A triumph.