One of our landlords recently completed a refurb on a cottage that has been used as a workshop / storage space since the 70s, and had fallen into disrepair. I have to share the before & after pics with you – it’s a real success story! They have done such a complete job of turning the property into a modern, stylish home, and it was a complete joy to find a new tenant for them.
In their own words: “As you will see, the renovations really have been a labour of love! Willow Tree Cottage was originally a home with the most recent known tenant being a Mr Cheeseman, in the 1960s, we think. From around the 1970s, the cottage was used as a garage, workshop and storage rooms. It was very run down when we bought the place. Now we have undertaken the job of turning it back into a warm, inviting and comfortable home again.
“Every part of the house, from the roof down, has been painstakingly repaired, restored or replaced. This included full reconstruction of the roof, new windows, putting in water and electricity connections where there previously were none, new heating and hot water systems, two new bathrooms and a kitchen, replastering including repairing the original lime plaster in many places, full redecoration using specialist paints in Farrow & Ball colours, repointing of the original stonework, structurally reinforcing the old floors, replacing old, rotten lintels. You name it… we did it.
“Although the cottage is fortunately not Listed, our aim was always to enable it to be a comfortable home, with modern conveniences whilst still maintaining its character and beautiful period features such as the fire places, exposed stone walls and original quarry tiled and flagstone floors.
“To help make the cottage as energy efficient as possible, we included a 2.5kw solar pv installation, double glazing, state of the art individually thermostatically controlled clay core radiators, a solar heated water system (that stores excess energy from the solar PV not being used by the electrics in the cottage!) and lots of loft and roof insulation, to the standards of a new build house or above!”
Reside is an award-winning independent letting agent in Bath. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspect of letting or managing your property; we would love to hear from you.
Toby holds a Level 3 ARLA Propertymark qualification and runs the 'engine room' at Reside, making sure that properties are perfectly-presented and that they are let quickly at a good rent. When not working, Toby is happiest when enjoying a day's cricket.
