You know what it's like - you're looking for your dream Welsh country cottage but end up buying a huge, three-storey big building in the centre of a town with a rundown shop instead.
That certainly wasn't the property plan and pathway that Ceri Lee was expecting when she decided to move back home to Wales from Essex but now, after a lot of drama, trauma and annoying Welsh weather, she couldn't be happier.
Ceri, originally from the north west of England but who has strong ties to north Wales, was living at the time in Essex with her two sons. She was looking for a new location for a new chapter in her life and the choice was not a hard one - Wales.
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Ceri says: "In 1989, when I left home for university, my parents moved to Ruthin so that my mum could support her parents in Prestatyn, who we used to go and stay with during the school holidays.
"I remember coming home for Christmas and seeing Ruthin for the first time. It was snowing and it was love at first sight; so pretty, picturesque, and evocative. I'd found my 'hiraeth', but I was young and wanted to travel the world, so that's what I did!"
After life moved on and Essex became home, a change in circumstance meant a change of address and the dream was a Welsh cottage close to family. The perfect abode was found and everything was going well - the Essex home was sold and the packing was done, but then the cottage sale at the other end of the chain fell through in the final week.
Ceri and her boys had to temporarily move in with her mum just outside Ruthin and resume searching for properties - and quickly. But sometimes property serendipity takes control of your future home and a house that you wouldn't have looked at muscles its way into your sightline.
And a three-storey town house in the centre of Ruthin was not going to go unnoticed, even though Ceri's friend had pointed it out to her on Rightmove and she dismissed it as being too expensive.
Ceri says: "Initially I felt daunted because it was huge, beyond my price limit, and completely unlike the smaller cottage I had set my heart on. I couldn't shift the preconceived notions I had with the other property and the renovations I had in mind for that.
"But the house felt warm and welcoming inside and upon the second viewing the visons began to form, and I started to figure out how to utilise the space and the cost implications."
The house had planted its potential seed in Ceri's head and it started to grow. At that time it was a comfortable home but had a section that had been unused for many years, and it was this area that sparked Ceri's imagination.
Ceri says: "It had been derelict for 23 years, it had been a shop in its former existence but currently didn't even have windows, just boards and a shutter. Wires adorned the ceiling and walls, there were holes in the walls, basically it was due a complete overhaul. I knew if I took on this project my work was really cut out!"
But the 52 year-old qualified and experienced yoga teacher and midlife mentor was up for the challenge, and she needed to be because there were a number of times the project really tested her resolve.
The plan was to rewire the whole building and convert the shop into a yoga studio while living in the rest of the property so she could teach and work without needing childcare for her boys, then aged 10 and 11. But when the project's electrician suggested Ceri should create an Airbnb within the ground floor too, the potential for the property to become a happy home plus two income sources became the end goal.
"I managed to negotiate a price where I had some spare capital, a limited budget, to make the necessary renovations.", says Ceri, "Our living area was separated by extracting the first floor balustrade, replacing it with a wall and door at the top of the first floor so that we are more secure and contained.
"I found the tradesmen and contracted the entire project single-handedly which was challenging as I was new to the area and wasn't yet familiar with the trades people. But I had experience working with tradesmen on previous smaller house projects, so knew the kind of people I was looking for; direct, honest and with a good work ethic.
"Once work began, after two months of sheer hard work from everyone, including me as the woodchip warrior(!), plans appeared to be coming together. Then, disaster struck.
"Shortly after plastering the back room – an extension that had been built for the old shop storage, and that has become the Buddha room, there was a deluge of rain, which had leaked in significantly through the flat roof onto the beautifully plastered and newly lined walls; my heart dropped. But I took a deep breath and after a few weeks found a good local roofer to reline the flat roof."
Dramas with water seemed to be the theme with the project when a hole suddenly appeared in the ceiling of the spare bedroom due to an avalanche of descending water - the hot water tank above had collapsed from where it had been secured.
Ceri remembers: "That was shocking and a truly scary moment. My son had initially been staying in that room when we first moved in and had only moved into another room a few weeks before. It was awful to think what might have been."
But the traumatic episodes at the property weren't over. Ceri says: "Looking back, 2020 was particularly difficult, I was scheduled to have major surgery in March, which was cancelled due to Covid and rearranged for December. During this time the kitchen became almost uninhabitable. Black smoke patches formed above the old integrated fridge freeze, cupboard doors began falling off and the plumbing under the sink was leaking.
"I knew that the recovery post-surgery would take several months and that the boys would have to take more responsibility, but with the kitchen as it was it was a real worry. However, I had been teaching online during the pandemic and accumulated some more money. So, I bit the bullet once again. The kitchen was completed one month before I went into the hospital, which was perfect timing!"
These instances of drama were always against the backdrop of living onsite during the renovation, and managing it alone as a single parent with two young boys.
Ceri remembers: "It wasn’t easy. It was a huge feat. But I couldn't give up, that wasn't an option. I had uprooted my boys from their hometown in Essex, invested everything into this project and had to build a home for the boys, and a workspace for myself. Thankfully I had a great team of tradesmen who kept the spirits up with humour and lots of banter over cups of tea."
The team has totally transformed the ground floor into the Yoga Light Centre and the Airbnb, the first priorities of the project, which took five months and opened to the public in September 2019. The combination of both businesses even offer a customer the chance to now stay at the property as a yoga retreat and attend Ceri's onsite classes and mentoring programmes.
Ceri says that the rest of the house has been updated room-by-room since before, during, and after the pandemic, the garden has been transformed, and the ‘final frontier’ is the roof and front exterior which is now in the process of completion.
"I was elated when we finished the studio and Airbnb but it was a bit of a blur, it all seemed to happen so fast. It’s only now when I look back that I realise the size of the challenge." Ceri comments, "I feel proud at what was achieved, grateful to all the tradesmen who worked so hard and who all put in extended hours. It feels so good to have created something beautiful to serve the community."
Now settled and enjoying using the light-filled yoga space that she has painted white, lined with mirrors and kept décor to a minimum to create a serene and calm area, Ceri doesn't see herself taking on another renovation any time soon, but has some advice for anyone thinking of taking the plunge into their own project.
"Do your research, get your quotes from various trades, and listen to those who are expert in the field." she says, "Check you have the finances to complete the essentials and take out building insurance from a reputable company. Then trust your intuition and remain philosophical; if it’s meant to be it will be!
"I have also learnt that old properties often have more problems than you can initially see. It’s important to be prepared for this and aware it might take longer than initially planned. Most importantly I learnt that your biggest challenge can be your greatest gift. It’s all about mindset. And necessity is the mother of invention!
"Plus, a strong yoga practice built up over the years is like armour for the mind and enabled me to hold it together. I always tell my students that the yoga practice they do now is an investment for the future, and this life challenge certainly proved it for me!"
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