London Terrace

Feature 13595272 | © living4media / Narratives / Sanderson, Robert | 29 images

Kate Sissons saw beyond the wreck of this London terrace, bringing it back to life and doubling its size. “I was so thrilled to discover an unmodernised two-bedroom cottage in this part of London, as they're increasingly difficult to find, ” she says. In addition to the property's potential, Kate was also thrilled by its location. “It's in a lovely, pretty and quiet street, which had no bomb damage, so the entire row of houses is an original 1880s terrace.” There's no denying that it needed a lot doing to it, and that was even before any of Kate's own ideas could see the light of day. “The house hadn't really been touched for nearly 100 years, ” says Kate. “The yellow brickwork was crumbling, there were huge holes in the party walls, there was bad damp, and even areas of asbestos. The whole place had to be pretty much rebuilt and the party walls stitched together using long metal rods to hold them in position.”