Home From Home

Clever colours, tactile surfaces and a lot of hard graft were all it took for Lee to turn a poorly decorated and unloved property into a super-stylish yet functional family abode

- Claudia Baillie

‘I’M actually quite tight,’ says a smiling Lee Thornley, when asked what it took to completely reinvent the quaint Victorian mill house that he and his daughters Lyla and Iris live in. ‘I like to find a solution that isn’t just throwing cash at a problem and I’m not a fan of wasting money. This house definitely proves that if you spend just a few quid on a concrete worktop or some cool wooden cladding, for example, it can really make a difference.’ And what a difference those things have made to the once dated and unloved property, which he has since transformed into a characterful and cosy family home.