The extended kitchen of Laura's home
Lifestyle

House Renovation Highlights featuring The Handler House

Hi all! My weekly House Renovation Highlights series is back and I am super excited to be featuring Laura and her beautifully renovated home @thehandlerhouse. Here, Laura shares how she has transformed her home by adding a huge rear extension featuring a stunning kitchen, full height glazing and a beautiful herringbone floor throughout, alongside a double storey side extension. I love it, it’s all beautiful!

As well as this Laura tells us her three top tips which are incredibly useful for anyone planning their own renovation or about to start. My favourite must be to plan well and not to settle for something that you feel is not quite right. I completely agree, and it’s always something you look back on with hindsight, but when you’re doing a huge renovation there are always quick decisions you need to make.

I would love for you to have a read of Laura’s renovation story and to give her a follow on Instagram to be inspired by the rest of her home.

Tell us about your home and your renovation project. What did you do?

We extended our house with a double side and single story rear extension.

A before image of Laura's work before the building work started.
A before image of Laura’s home before the building work started.
Laura's house transformation after the single story extension to the rear and double storey extension to the side were completed.
Laura’s home after the building works were completed. A single storey extension was added to the rear, and a double storey extension was added to the side.

What did you enjoy the most about your house renovation?

I enjoyed most parts of the renovation to be honest maybe if you asked me at the time I may have said differently but I was genuinely so interested and excited in every step, watching it all come down and then being re built in a totally different guise was amazing. Obviously the end part and filling it with all the beautiful accessories was very fun!!!  

What was your biggest challenge?

The mess and dust is of course pretty awful and I found it pretty challenging when we had to move out for a week to allow the builders to lay the flooring. The air b&b was really so so bad (really dirty and grimy) and my youngest son was really poorly, funny when looking back we begged our builder to move back as the building site was a more appealing option at the time! 

The brand new kitchen in Laura's home.
The brand new kitchen in Laura’s home.

Is there anything that you would have done differently?

I think that I would have been more focussed on the bathrooms, mainly the en suite as I settled for silver shower, taps and fittings when really I would have preferred brass but I went with what was easiest to source at the time (4 hours in a bathroom shop with a 6 year and 4 year old is not fun)! I would have also put more storage in the master bedroom as I am slightly regretting not doing that now. Always think about clever storage when the builders are there doing the big work otherwise getting them back to do smaller jobs is tricky and messy.

Tell us your top tips?

1) Plan as much as early as possible and don’t settle for something that you feel is not quite right (see previous comment).

2) If it’s a big project and you can afford to then work with your architect to create a ‘finishes’ package as ours was invaluable.

3) Have fun and try not to stress over the small stuff.

What was your best renovation purchase?

For me it was the Herringbone flooring which is engineered wood with underfloor heating. Absolutely love it still and it’s held up so well even with a year in lockdown with two little boys! And of course it is so lovely and warm in the winter. My husbands best investment is the boiling Franke tap which is fantastic and a total game changer in the kitchen! 

The through view looking through into the vast kitchen extension.
The through view looking through into the vast kitchen extension.

Would you do it again?

100% yes would absolutely love to! Need to win the lottery I think ha ha!!  

What’s next? Any future renovation plans?

No major renovation plans in the future (unless I win the lottery of course)! A few rooms need some tlc and re painting etc, mainly the guest room and office as they have both become dumping grounds during lockdown and are now our focus! 

Thank you so much Laura for sharing your renovation story and your beautiful home with us. I have loved reading this and hearing your top tips that I’m sure many future renovators will find valuable.

You can see more of Laura’s stunning home on her Instagram @thehandlerhouse

Key info

If you would love to have your your home featured as part of my series, do drop me an email thepramshedblog@gmail.com and take a nose at my last renovations highlight post featuring Hedge on the Corner

Claire x

House Renovation Highlights featuring The Handler House

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