Having long admired the Victorian crescent that this property is situated on, it was a matter of acting speedily when a house finally became available.
‘I’d always admired this Victorian crescent in Harrogate town centre,’ says Helen Somers, ‘so I was gutted when a townhouse came up for sale here and was quickly snapped up by someone else because we hadn’t sold our property yet.’
‘Our previous home – a converted barn eight miles outside Harrogate – was quite isolated and not on a bus route. As the children got older I was spending too much time driving them about, whereas in town they could walk to school and be more independent, so we’d decided to move.’
‘After selling our barn, the stars aligned and a house on the other side of the crescent came on the market. I quickly arranged a viewing prior to the open day as the location was perfect. We hadn't even stepped over the threshold but as soon as I saw the vast lobby with original tiles and wide Victorian doors, I was hooked.’
‘When the estate agent turned around, my partner Jamie mimed ‘what do you think?’ and I gave him a double thumbs up. We hadn’t even seen the top floor yet but Jamie felt the same and we made an offer there and then.’
‘Although we loved the original features like the bannister, corbels, coving and picture rails, the eighties kitchen and bathrooms had to go. The only working shower was on the top floor, and that used to run hot and cold, so a new boiler and hot water system was a must as part of the renovation.'
'At the same time, we replaced the two family bathrooms on each floor, and even managed to create two new en suites from a toilet and a cupboard on the first floor. As we had no water and progress was slow during the pandemic, we moved into a rented cottage while the work was done.’
The kitchen
‘A couple of years later we extended the small kitchen, but didn’t move out this time. With a tiled floor and no heating, it was absolutely freezing. We used to call it ‘the knobby kitchen’ as I've never seen so many knobs on every drawer and cupboard! It was only extended by under two metres, but it's made such a difference and the vaulted ceiling makes it feel so much bigger.’
‘Our builders were brilliant and constructed new walls around the kitchen. This meant we had a little building inside a building and could have a functional kitchen for ages. As we ran our Excel spreadsheet with military precision, the build came in on budget.'
'It was really important for me to have as much glazing as possible overlooking the side courtyard, so I was happy to have one big bank of units on one wall and a large island. We did have to put the freezer in the garage though, as we ran out of space.’
‘My partner is more of a minimalist and wanted a really modern kitchen but I wanted something more traditional. We’ve compromised with classic Forest Green matt Shaker-style units from Wren teamed with modern built-in ovens and a Quooker boiling water tap.’
‘There’s also an eclectic mix of artwork that’s been collected over the years. My partner graduated in Fine Arts and he likes modern, abstract pieces while I prefer more traditional art, so we are quite different. In a Victorian house with higher ceilings, I feel you can put bigger pieces up, so you can mix and match more.’
‘Now we’re really happy with the structural layout of the house. We did debate about adding an en suite to our daughter's top-floor bedroom, but we don't really need it. My favourite room has got to be the kitchen where everybody congregates. If guests come round, we end up perched at the kitchen island chit chatting and it's great.’
The living room
‘Putting authentic features back was really important to us, so we pulled out the 1980’s repro fireplaces in the drawing room and living room, then found reclaimed marble fireplaces at Victoriana in Hull. The one in the snug came from a far grander house than this, but it works because the room was opened up to the kitchen-diner, so feels bigger.’
‘The previous decor was very neutral with cream walls, but my style is bold and colourful so there are threads of pink, red, and blue throughout the house. It’s a Victorian house and the Victorians liked darker, stronger colours and patterns. I wanted to be true to the property’s heritage without looking too Disney, as it’s still a modern family house.’
‘I was initially going to pick a really dark House of Hackney wallpaper, but after getting the fireplace, it didn't seem right. This lighter design, called Adaline Ivory by Warner House, works much better. The pink stripe throw and nutcracker ornament are from Gisela Graham.’
‘We’re really looking forward to a relaxing Christmas this year. Although we cook the full turkey dinner together, it’s a very dressed down affair. I'm quite happy for people to be sat in comfy pants with an elasticated waist – after all, if I’m going to feed you up, there’s nothing worse than too tight, scratchy clothes!'
'I’ve decorated using pieces from Gisela Graham, while the candy cane garland is from Cox & Cox, bringing in the red and pink theme, which I love.’
The dining area
‘There was a nice oak floor before, but we were sick to death of having freezing feet and wanted underfloor heating, so we sourced new parquet flooring from Coldbath Flooring in Harrogate.'
'It’s tumbled for an aged look, which was great as I didn't want it shiny. This is a family home, so it's not pristine and we don’t mind the kids dragging their stools over it.’
‘Our next job will be re-decorating the front drawing room with heavily patterned wallpaper and velvet drapes. I'm also going to put aged tiles around the modern patio doors to make it more like a Victorian kitchen and have more of my vintage crockery on display in the dining room.’
‘We used to have a marble tulip table with multicoloured chairs, which were nice but didn't suit the dining room after re-decorating. When I saw this amazing 1960s Ercol dining table on instagram, I phoned the seller at Pool Bank Vintage Interiors in Otley straight away. He’d been inundated with phone calls but held it for me as I’m a regular customer.’
The hallway
‘I was hoping to find Minton tiles under the engineered oak in the hallway, but they were long since gone. These ones from Topps Tiles work brilliantly with the dark staircase painted in A Dash of Soot Black by Tikkurila.’
‘The cinema seats were an eBay find, which we’ve had re-painted and re-upholstered. I wanted somewhere for the kids to put on their shoes without being too obtrusive.’
The master bedroom
‘In our bedroom, the headboard fabric in Mixed Tones by Designer’s Guild was the starting point for the scheme. I’d seen it at Red Brick Mill in Batley years ago and fell in love with it.'
'Jamie loved it too because it's an artist’s palette with all the different colours. It works well with the Oliver Bonas bedspread and we’ve added a red berry garland from Gisela Graham.’
The guest bedroom
‘Metal headboards can be uncomfortable so I got these bolster cushions made that tie around the frame in the guest bedroom. We’ve also put some panelling up and plan to paint it green before adding wallpaper above. The nutcracker ornaments are from Gisela Graham.’
The bathroom
'The main bathroom has been totally transformed. It had a water-stained bath panel, bidet, cracked sink and an overhead shower that didn't work. We only went in there to clean our teeth. Now it has a freestanding bath with wet room shower and Crittal-style screen.'
‘After collecting lots of pictures, I was getting drawn towards completely tiled bathrooms so picked the wall tiles first, then the geometric floor tiles.’
‘I've always bought home magazines and have a passion for interior design, so I’ve really enjoyed getting creative with this house,' concludes Helen @ourhouseonthecrescent.
