What would you do with this house?

[fancyaflatwhite]

Offer accepted on this 'bit of a fixer-upper' Edwardian house@ All we could afford to do right away would be decorate and lay new flooring.

But when finances eventually allow, I reckon a side-return extension creating a kitchen/diner on to the garden...

Does anyone have any other ideas please? I want to start getting excited and visualising!

Hi, have you got a link?

@Motherofalegend oops it's been a long day!

Here's the house....any thoughts warmly welcomed, thanks

Sand the floorboards. I bet they're lovely! Hire a sander and DIY (but move furniture out first). Would save money on flooring!

I really wouldn't call it a fixer upper, barely looks like anything needs to be done immediately. Agree with sanding the floors but it is very messy.

I'd de-wood it: paint the doors and picture rails that have been left as varnished wood as that's not in keeping with the age and style of the house.
Personally, I'd get rid of the wood effect worktop in the kitchen (unless it is natural wood and I missed it).
Go for a simpler set up for curtains in the sitting room as that looks very 'frills and flounce'-y.
Other than that, I don't think you need to do a lot, although I would also check if there's a part wall agreement in place for the covered over passageway on the left.

Just a bit of advice- we had a semi detached Victorian- a bit bigger than this one. It never really warmed up. We used to joke that it had it's own micro climate. Spent thousands on improvements to make it somewhat bearable. Have you checked the EPC? It has an E rating. So, ask about the cost of heating it.

It’s a beautiful house and largely looks cosmetic. Having said that, I noticed it looks like the roof at the front may need a little TLC - one of the things looks to be missing. I have no idea what they’re called, but covers the slate where the back and front meet.

I have a little pet hate with galley kitchens, and if I was living there I would consider putting the kitchen into the dining room and use the old kitchen as a snug/office, or extending it to have a large space for a kitchen/diner/family area and possibly a small office space somewhere.

Oh yes, great idea to check out and potentially sand existing floorboards. I'm hoping there might be some wonderful original floor tiles under carpet somewhere, but that might be pushing the optimism a bit!

I feel exactly the same about galley kitchens @Motherofalegend - but am sucking it up in this case, because I think the potential is there. I think moving the kitchen to the dining room could be a great idea, then extending for a diner/family area/study.

Thanks for ideas so far, helping me get excited.

Good point re: heating costs @mackers1, that's on my mind. Any tips (including pricier ones) are welcome.

Is it double glazed? It didn't look like it from the pictures. If not, doing that would improve the heating aspect.

I have no idea what they’re called, but covers the slate where the back and front meet.

ridge tiles I think.

Oh what a gorgeous garden.

When they move out and you see the bones of the place, you might get a better idea of what you want to do - there is a lot of stuff there. I'd also check about floorboards - could be stunning.

We live in a 1910 house and when we renovated we added in crown molding in all the downstairs rooms and hall and in our bedrooms. We had it match the style of trim in the fireplace. it really added to the rooms.

Also agree with painting all the woodwork, including the fireplace.

Looks lovely. Hitchin is a nice town.

I would paint the wood trim that's currently golden oak in a deep charcoal grey. I'd also paint the cupboards/shelves on both sides of the fireplace the same grey, and the golden oak doors too. Also the interior window frames.

Sand and refinish the natural floors. I
would go with a dark walnut stain.

Take down the dated curtains and pelmet in the sitting room.

Get some rugs in vivid colours.

@fancyaflatwhite We changed all the original sash windows with like for like double glazed ones, new boiler, new front door, insulated the floors in the hallway (before tiling on top), thick carpet and thick underlay in the particularly cold front room and underfloor heating in the kitchen. Then there were small things like chimney sheep, I think they were called, up the chimneys as the chimneys were draughty and some reflective sheets behind the radiators.

Paint the golden oak mantelpiece white too.

It’s beautiful. Sanding, painting and perhaps some well thought out panelling would go a long way. Think about storage too as some areas look quite cluttered so with the decorating and well thought out storage/accessories it would make a difference. It’s a lovely house.

thanks all and ta @mackers1 for the heat-preserving tips. I imagine the double glazed sash windows aren't cheap, but I think they'll need to be a priority.

I'm looking forward to painting those picture rails (?)/wood trims if all goes through...please cross fingers for me.

If they are the original windows your going to freeze to death 🙂. They don’t look like they have been looked after well from the pictures.

if I were you I’d spend all my money on getting them replaced, they do some excellent wood effect pvc sliding sash windows nowdays , they really are top class ……. Not cheap and the price will make your eyes water 😭. But will make a huge difference to the warmth/draughts and increase the kerb appeal.

I’ve had original victorian sliding sashes, they looked great but ice on the inside in winter is not nice.

I think it's a bit dramatic to say that you will freeze to death with single glazed windows. We have original single glazed sash windows and the house is not that cold. Yes the heating bills are higher than for a new build but that's the trade off. Also, there is an argument to say that wooden windows are better for the environment overall because wood is a natural and renewable material, and they have so far lasted 200 years in this house. PVC double glazing will not last that long, and is therefore not as good for the environment when considered from a waste management point of view (rather than an energy saving point of view). Live with the windows for one winter and see what you think!

It’s the 21st century and some people are still holding on to building methods that are hundreds of years old ( crap sliding draughty single glazed windows) and just turn the heating up to compensate 🙄.

hold your hand near a single glazed window on the cold night and feel how much cold is coming through/ heat going out.
Single glazing is crap and it’s time the government made every home move toward at least double glazing ( even in listeduildings).

You're still not going to freeze to death.

I find it very useful for ventilation! No damp here. But yes of course everything is a trade off. Using huge pieces of plastic that will end up in landfill in the not so distant future is just changing the environmental problem from an energy efficiency one to one in which there is a lot of persistent waste produced. I guess it just depends which battle you want to fight

Oh, great space for the price! (And hello from a near neighbour 😉) Agree on the floors. But I think once it’s decluttered with some neutral paint there will be less to do than you think.

Live in it for a while first, it doesn't look as if it needs lots doing. So best to get used to the house first to find out things that annoy you before making changes, unless there is something you know you want to immediately change.

upvc window frames don’t end up in landfill anymore , they can be recycled into pellet’s for new window frames …… the guy I know who goes around collecting them from local window companies gets £400 for a sprinter van full of them and £100 for a full load of glass 🙂

It’s a lovely house.

I’d definitely sort out the basics like windows, roof, heating first.
Windows- instead of replacing them I’d actually consider restoring and then secondary glazing on the front as the house is on quite a busy road and secondary glazing is better at noise reduction.
On the roof, if you can get permission to do a proper dormer extension to the existing loft conversion at the back it would really improve the master bedroom and you could probably add an en suite at the back. Might be difficult if it’s a conservation area and no precedent.
Don’t sand the floorboards until you’ve spent a winter there- they can make the room absolutely freezing.
I agree a side return kitchen extension would be lovely but they are fearsomely expensive (usually over 80k in my area) as the whole house has to be re-supported on a beam. So I’d consider using the dining room at least in the short term and then look into costs. You don’t want to go over the ceiling price for the house. In the short term if you replaced the worktop with natural wood or corian and replaced the floor, maybe paint the units the kitchen would be fine.