"This house was a big CHALLENGE'

First daunted by the amount of work it needed, Rhian is now thrilled with the result of the huge project that nearly doubled the size of their property

- STEPHANIE SMITH

My husband and I are both Welsh, and we've lived in the Cardiff area for many years,' says Rhian. 'Our previous home was a 1930s semi, which we totally renovated and decorated and which served us well for eight years. But with three small children, we started to crave a bigger garden, off-street parking and more space to be together as a family.

We saw this house up for sale and went to have a look. It needed a lot of work as it had so many issues, and some of the rooms were smaller than the ones we'd be leaving behind. It was advertised as a four-bedroom property, but the third bedroom had basically been chopped in two to make two smaller bedrooms.

And there had been some strange extensions... in the kitchen there was a great big pillar stuck in the middle of the space next to the dining area! It all needed rewiring, there was damp and ancient central heating, but it had enormous potential. Having done up one house already, I wasn't keen, but my husband talked me round and said that we could create exactly what we wanted, and I was persuaded.

Planning changes

We took on a local company, Taliesin Architecture, to help us put together the substantial project, which almost ended up doubling the size of the house. We wanted to modernise, extend and create an annexe for my father-in-law, Lori, who moved with us. The design added a single-storey extension at the back for a large kitchen-diner, plus a double-height extension on the side for the annexe, study and downstairs loo, and a family bathroom and master suite upstairs.