EVERYTHING
R E N OVAT I O N O F T H E Y E A R 2 015 C O M P E T I T I O N
HOME PROFILE
CELEBRATE
AMAZING TRANSFORMATIONS From whole house revamps to clever room makeovers, House Beautiful pulls the dust sheets off inspiring home projects
WHO LIVES HERE Swedish-born Ulrika Muller, 39, an artist and designer, her husband Morné, 40, a project manager at Leconfield Property Group, and their two children, Luke, nine, and Vera, seven THE RENOVATION A three-bedroom cottage-style terraced house in Tooting, south London, has been renovated throughout and transformed into a modern and light-filled space. It was bought for £245,000, and the couple spent around £45,000 on the renovation – they did a lot of the building, carpentry and painting themselves. The house is now worth £675,000
A PLACE FOR
EVERYTHING BEFORE
An urban cottage has been transformed into a Scandi-style family home by an artist and her husband WORDS CHRIS SALZANO PHOTOGRAPHY TIM MITCHELL/AMBIENCE IMAGES
Large glass candle holders from Oka sit on the half-wall that divides the living room and kitchen area
Morné adapted the Ikea cabinets to suit the space and fitted a Silestone worktop from Marble City. The large-format porcelain floor tiles are from European Heritage
CONTINUED OVER PAGE
R E N O VAT I O N O F T H E Y E A R 2 015 C O M P E T I T I O N
Smart floor-to-ceiling units built by Morné house the TV and his and Ulrika’s work spaces
W
hen artist Ulrika Muller and her husband Morné went to view a dark, cramped cottage in Tooting, south London, they struggled to see its potential. ‘These houses were built for workers in 1910 and the layout had hardly changed since then. You could just about stand and open a cupboard door in the two small rooms and narrow kitchen downstairs,’ explains Ulrika. Now in a conservation area, the house is part of a cottage estate that was strongly influenced by both the Garden City and the Arts & Crafts movements of the late 19th century. A complete overhaul was needed and, although it was Morné and Ulrika’s sixth renovation, it was also their biggest, taking four years to complete. What makes their achievement even more remarkable is that they did most of the work themselves while living in the property and raising two children. ‘There was a lot of going out to the park and eating lunch in the garden, making it an adventure for the children,’ says Ulrika with a laugh. The decor hadn’t been touched since the 1970s. Not put off by the scale of the task, the couple threw themselves into the project, gutting the house and removing internal walls downstairs. Both of them had previously worked on renovating luxury properties – Ulrika drawing up architectural plans for an interior designer and Morné as a builder – and their experience was evident in the design. Ulrika wanted the cottage to be both cosy and to have a modern loft feel. Now pale oak flooring runs throughout downstairs, complemented by a palette of soft greys on the walls and doors. In the living area, bespoke shelves flank a log burner and Ulrika’s paintings hang on the walls. Morné’s father, a master builder in South Africa, flew in to help with the construction of the kitchen extension. For three months the 126 housebeautiful.co.uk
One of Ulrika’s paintings is a striking contrast to the classical elements in the dining area
family decamped into what are now the children’s bedrooms. ‘We must have lived and slept in every room and the kitchen has been in every corner of the house,’ recalls Ulrika. There were, of course, plenty of testing moments in taking on so much of the work themselves. ‘Morné and I put together the bi-fold doors in the living room – it took nine hours! Then we had to lift them down into the kitchen and fit them. That was a challenge,’ says Ulrika. Ulrika likes to paint in the light-filled kitchen, made up of Ikea units adapted by Morné with Silestone worktops. Large porcelain floor tiles run onto the patio adding to the sense of space. On the first floor are the children’s bedrooms. ‘They’ve been very creative in this house,’ explains Ulrika. ‘They could see what we were doing and took part. We’re starting early, training them to be property developers!’ Key to creating the sense of space was clever storage and the couple designed and built their own. Recessed into one wall in the living room are floor-to-ceiling cupboards in which the TV nestles between two hidden office spaces. A master bedroom has been created in the loft but restrictions meant only Velux windows could be used. ‘Our neighbours were told by a loft conversion company that they didn’t have the height for a room in the loft, but we knew there must be a way,’ says Morné. ‘I lowered the joists and dropped the ceilings on the first floor by 200mm. Now we have a great space up there.’ It’s very much this can-do attitude that has shaped the Muller’s beautiful and functional home. ‘When I renovate a house it’s to suit how we live,’ says Ulrika. ‘This is a perfect home for us even though it’s small – I think that a lot of houses bigger than ours don’t offer as much as this one does.’ HB l See Ulrika’s art on Facebook at UlrikaMullerArt
In the couple’s loft bedroom, bespoke cupboards built into the eaves provide enough room for all of their clothes. The bed is from Nordic Style
SEEING THE POTENTIAL Ulrika’s tips for renovating
*
Look at the floorplan and consider what you want from the house. Imagine yourself using the space. Will you have enough room when you pull out a chair from the table? Think about the way you live and plan the layout accordingly. Once you have a plan, try to stick to it – changing things costs money. We mostly got things through a network of contacts in the building industry, but otherwise we shopped around. And we always bought the best quality we could afford.
* *
WHAT IT COST Building work ..................................................................£9,000 Plumbing and electrics .....................................................£4,500 Stairs and flooring ...........................................................£7,200 Built-in furniture ..............................................................£3,500 Kitchen ...........................................................................£7,500 Bathroom........................................................................ £3,500 Velux windows and bi-fold doors .....................................£4,100 Decorating ......................................................................£1,000 TOTAL.......................................................................... £40,300
Bi-fold doors connect the kitchen extension with the garden
FOR MORE HOME INSPIRATION, SEE housebeautiful.co.uk
House Beautiful SEPTEMBER 2015 127
HOME PROFILE
CELEBRATE
AMAZING TRANSFORMATIONS From whole house revamps to clever room makeovers, House Beautiful pulls the dust sheets off inspiring home projects
WHO LIVES HERE Swedish-born Ulrika Muller, 39, an artist and designer, her husband Morné, 40, a project manager at Leconfield Property Group, and their two children, Luke, nine, and Vera, seven THE RENOVATION A three-bedroom cottage-style terraced house in Tooting, south London, has been renovated throughout and transformed into a modern and light-filled space. It was bought for £245,000, and the couple spent around £45,000 on the renovation – they did a lot of the building, carpentry and painting themselves. The house is now worth £675,000
A PLACE FOR
EVERYTHING BEFORE
An urban cottage has been transformed into a Scandi-style family home by an artist and her husband WORDS CHRIS SALZANO PHOTOGRAPHY TIM MITCHELL/AMBIENCE IMAGES
Large glass candle holders from Oka sit on the half-wall that divides the living room and kitchen area
Morné adapted the Ikea cabinets to suit the space and fitted a Silestone worktop from Marble City. The large-format porcelain floor tiles are from European Heritage
CONTINUED OVER PAGE
R E N O VAT I O N O F T H E Y E A R 2 015 C O M P E T I T I O N
Smart floor-to-ceiling units built by Morné house the TV and his and Ulrika’s work spaces
W
hen artist Ulrika Muller and her husband Morné went to view a dark, cramped cottage in Tooting, south London, they struggled to see its potential. ‘These houses were built for workers in 1910 and the layout had hardly changed since then. You could just about stand and open a cupboard door in the two small rooms and narrow kitchen downstairs,’ explains Ulrika. Now in a conservation area, the house is part of a cottage estate that was strongly influenced by both the Garden City and the Arts & Crafts movements of the late 19th century. A complete overhaul was needed and, although it was Morné and Ulrika’s sixth renovation, it was also their biggest, taking four years to complete. What makes their achievement even more remarkable is that they did most of the work themselves while living in the property and raising two children. ‘There was a lot of going out to the park and eating lunch in the garden, making it an adventure for the children,’ says Ulrika with a laugh. The decor hadn’t been touched since the 1970s. Not put off by the scale of the task, the couple threw themselves into the project, gutting the house and removing internal walls downstairs. Both of them had previously worked on renovating luxury properties – Ulrika drawing up architectural plans for an interior designer and Morné as a builder – and their experience was evident in the design. Ulrika wanted the cottage to be both cosy and to have a modern loft feel. Now pale oak flooring runs throughout downstairs, complemented by a palette of soft greys on the walls and doors. In the living area, bespoke shelves flank a log burner and Ulrika’s paintings hang on the walls. Morné’s father, a master builder in South Africa, flew in to help with the construction of the kitchen extension. For three months the 126 housebeautiful.co.uk
One of Ulrika’s paintings is a striking contrast to the classical elements in the dining area
family decamped into what are now the children’s bedrooms. ‘We must have lived and slept in every room and the kitchen has been in every corner of the house,’ recalls Ulrika. There were, of course, plenty of testing moments in taking on so much of the work themselves. ‘Morné and I put together the bi-fold doors in the living room – it took nine hours! Then we had to lift them down into the kitchen and fit them. That was a challenge,’ says Ulrika. Ulrika likes to paint in the light-filled kitchen, made up of Ikea units adapted by Morné with Silestone worktops. Large porcelain floor tiles run onto the patio adding to the sense of space. On the first floor are the children’s bedrooms. ‘They’ve been very creative in this house,’ explains Ulrika. ‘They could see what we were doing and took part. We’re starting early, training them to be property developers!’ Key to creating the sense of space was clever storage and the couple designed and built their own. Recessed into one wall in the living room are floor-to-ceiling cupboards in which the TV nestles between two hidden office spaces. A master bedroom has been created in the loft but restrictions meant only Velux windows could be used. ‘Our neighbours were told by a loft conversion company that they didn’t have the height for a room in the loft, but we knew there must be a way,’ says Morné. ‘I lowered the joists and dropped the ceilings on the first floor by 200mm. Now we have a great space up there.’ It’s very much this can-do attitude that has shaped the Muller’s beautiful and functional home. ‘When I renovate a house it’s to suit how we live,’ says Ulrika. ‘This is a perfect home for us even though it’s small – I think that a lot of houses bigger than ours don’t offer as much as this one does.’ HB l See Ulrika’s art on Facebook at UlrikaMullerArt
In the couple’s loft bedroom, bespoke cupboards built into the eaves provide enough room for all of their clothes. The bed is from Nordic Style
SEEING THE POTENTIAL Ulrika’s tips for renovating
*
Look at the floorplan and consider what you want from the house. Imagine yourself using the space. Will you have enough room when you pull out a chair from the table? Think about the way you live and plan the layout accordingly. Once you have a plan, try to stick to it – changing things costs money. We mostly got things through a network of contacts in the building industry, but otherwise we shopped around. And we always bought the best quality we could afford.
* *
WHAT IT COST Building work ..................................................................£9,000 Plumbing and electrics .....................................................£4,500 Stairs and flooring ...........................................................£7,200 Built-in furniture ..............................................................£3,500 Kitchen ...........................................................................£7,500 Bathroom........................................................................ £3,500 Velux windows and bi-fold doors .....................................£4,100 Decorating ......................................................................£1,000 TOTAL.......................................................................... £40,300
Bi-fold doors connect the kitchen extension with the garden
FOR MORE HOME INSPIRATION, SEE housebeautiful.co.uk
House Beautiful SEPTEMBER 2015 127
