‘We Made Every Space Work Harder'

Alison and Adnan El-Araby made clever improvements to the layout of their home, then learnt how to turn the neutral, but bland, decor into something quite special…

Although the house they were taking on was a little unloved, Alison and Adnan El-Araby were confident that with a little work it could be a great family home. ‘We could see that the house was full of potential,’ says Alison. ‘It had already been knocked through and there was a small extension to the side, but the ceilings were too low and it was quite dark, so we decided to re-do the extension, incorporating the garage and extending to the rear to increase the overall floor space. We then decided to extend up into the loft, too, to add an extra bedroom and en suite.

The renovation work started in the spring and was carried out over six months, while we lived in a flat nearby. We were nervous about embarking on such a big project, but we had great builders from Grand Design London and everything went smoothly. We were able to move in just before Christmas.