GOTHIC REVIVAL

This Victorian home was on the brink of collapse before a thoughtful, meticulous revamp brought it back to life

- Judy Diamond

Embarking on a complex renovation project requires a leap of faith. Who knows what will be lurking under the floorboards and behind the plaster, ready to devour your contingency fund and eat into your schedule? You just have to believe the effort will be worth it and that, with the job complete and the owners settled into their newly transformed home, whatever obstacles you faced will have left no scars – on you or the property.

When Harriet Hughes got her first glimpse of this house on a wintry day towards the end of 2019, she could be forgiven for fearing the worst. “It looked a bit gothic from the outside,” she recalls of the scaffold-clad edifice, “but inside was just crazy. It was a complete wreck. The walls were falling down – in fact, a wall in what is now the dining room did fall down, nearly on top of someone, before we started. It was almost overwhelming.”

Built as a single dwelling, the rambling four-storey Victorian property had been split into three separate apartments over the years. Some bits were quite well maintained but others had been left to moulder. The new owners wanted it fixed up, restored and knocked back into one home. They had engaged an architect and made a tentative start on things but progress was stalling.