Back in 2017, Joanne Lewis and her partner Adam found an upside-down house by the sea in Kent.
Joanne admits it was an ‘eyesore’ but they saw lots of the potential and the fell in love with the location.
One of their new neighbours even described it as ‘the ugliest house on the street’.
Over the last three years, they’ve completely transformed the property to create a stylish and modern home, with three stories and sensational views.
Joanne posted a before and after picture of the property last week and it soon went viral, with over 43,000 likes.
Some people were so amazed by the change, they even suggested the pictures weren’t of the same house.
But the couple designed everything themselves, working with local tradespeople to complete the work, while also having two children.
When they bought it, it was an ‘upside-down house’ with a bedroom and bathroom downstairs and living space upstairs.
They started by knocking the wall down between the two and adding an extension into the garden to create the kitchen.
Once that was complete, they decided to move in and live there while the rest of the work was finished.
They turned the previous kitchen and lounge upstairs into a master bedroom, second bedroom and shower room.
They then started the next stage – adding another floor to the top to add two more bedrooms, another bathroom and balconies with sea views.
Joanne tells Metro.co.uk: ‘The second stage began at the end of 2019 and we were living in it. That was the hardest part.
‘The third-floor extension started the day we brought our newborn baby Alfie home from the hospital. What should have been a peaceful and pure time, was chaos, noise and mess, but we made it work.
‘We knew the end goal was going to be worth it.’
Adam kept an eye on the work but after a c-section, Joanne was unable to see what was happening on the new top floor as she couldn’t climb the ladders.
‘Adam kept showing me updates of videos and images he would take on his phone while up on the roof, photos of the sea views and progress of the day to help me feel like I was still involved.
‘I didn’t see it complete until the stairs had gone in. I had to put all my trust in Adam to get everything right – and he did.
‘This isn’t our forever home, it’s a stepping stone and I’m so proud of what we have achieved in such a short time in between two children and a proposal.’
Once the inside build was complete, the house was rendered, wood was added to the balconies, aluminium fascia added to the roof and under the balconies and the driveway was paved.
Now they are working on finishing the garden and although they loved doing the project, they are planning to put the house on the market later this year, to move onto their next home.
They’d always planned to sell up once everything was finished.
After one successful renovation, Joanne says that her biggest tip is to keep the end goal in mind.
She says: ‘Budget and plan for mistakes because there will be plenty. Things will go wrong make sure you consider everything in your budgeting.’
You can follow Joanne on @petitesideofstyle or see more of her house at @homesideofstyle.
Let’s take a look around the whole house:
The downstairs bathroom and bedroom became the kitchen
The living room, before and after
Upstairs went from kitchen and lounge to master bedroom (which later became a dressing room), a nursery and a shower room
And finally, an extension was added to the top for another two bedrooms and one bathroom
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/12/couple-transformugliest-house-street-dream-home-12690782/
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