Richard, a graphic designer and Sophie Windsor, a learning mentor, moved to their Bedminster terraced house in 2010 – there followed a long period of renovation

Images by Lukasz Cypis Kaminski

The house had been empty for six months and was; “filled up with some quite spectacular fitted furniture in 1992”. They deemed it ‘liveable’, but the estate agents would probably have described it as needing modernisation or a project.

Sophie and Richard say: “We knocked a few walls about a bit to open up the space downstairs and turned a window into a door for extra light. Two of the three remaining chimneys were in need of structural support, we replaced all of the windows, replaced all the draining – which required digging up the garden to get to cracked clay waste pipes – and rebuilt the back extension, previously a very damp bathroom.

“We’re yet to visit a house in the area that hasn’t experienced damp, ours was no exception and the extension at the back in particular was seriously bad. The main roof was riddled with holes and the windows leaked. We’re still suffering from some residual damp which, although the house is now watertight, it’s still drying out of the walls.

“We were less concerned with locking down the overall look and feel of the house, than buying bits and pieces we liked as we went along. Our styles seem to complement each other. We intentionally went with very neutral colours on the walls to allow us to build colour flexibly in the form of art and furnishings. We’ve realised that we’re really inspired by friends and other Bristol creators; local art from Dave Bain, Jon McNaught, Nakama, Dan Perry Jones, Richt, Iain Sellar and an increasing collection of swag from Forest & Fawn.

“We shopped around for the best price for our kitchen from high street stores before customising it. The majority of the furniture we bought was second hand with eBay and Gumtree featuring high on our go to list. Some bits were up cycled from hand me downs and charity shop finds. The bath was a lucky find that was being replaced by a family friend. The sink unit was previously a butcher’s block. It’s a slower process buying things as they become available on the second-hand market, but it’s worth it and don’t be put off by something that needs a bit of work, it’s cheaper and brilliantly satisfying. 

“This is our dream house for now and suits our current lifestyle beautifully, however we’re already plotting our next dream with a lot more outside space and a touch closer to the sea. The cats seem very content in their suburban home with Lula hanging out in any sunny spot she finds and Norris lording it up around the neighbourhood.”

Buyers advice:

Check furniture measurements before buying on auction sites. We once borrowed a massive van to pick up what we thought was a fairly grand wardrobe. It wasn’t even as tall as Sophie.

Recommendations from people who have already used someone in various trades are by far the best way to get the right skilled person for the job.

Although we’re used to it now, we weren’t originally prepared for just how much our improvements would cost and while we were aware the house needed work, we were faced with issues that were both costly and unforeseen.

In future we’d be much more open to more modern buildings… there’s not a single straight line in the house which made life a bit tricky fitting doors and skirtings!

It will take longer than you expect. Our big piece of advice is move out if you are to undergo extensive renovations, we spent as much time cleaning up to get on with normal daily actives as we did actually renovating.