Stables Cottage is our current home, part of an 18th-century Georgian courtyard that used to house the coaches and stables for Lainshaw House. Just on the edge of woodland, it has the perfect balance of being a walkable distance to town but feeling like it’s out in the countryside with a small group of neighbours.

The immediate impression I had upon viewing the house was that it was very dark, and very brown. The long-awaited garden of our own was essentially unusable (aside from the patio which was constantly in the shade) because it was built on a slope, down a hill. The shed had vines growing through it and the old wood box was rotten. I redesigned the garden to have three levels and increase the usable space, adding a weatherproof shed and a bike box on the lowest patio to make our bikes more accessible. We added a wood box next to the front door to supply the woodburner we had fitted (insulation in Georgian houses? Not a thing). I wanted porcelain tiles to give the garden a Balinese/Ibizan villa feel, and wanted to keep maintenance to a minimum (hence the hardy palms planted in pots - the large planting area is a work in progress but the eucalyptus and wildflowers we planted thrived, keeping it bee-friendly, and the lavender hanging over the edge in the summer made our barbeques more fragrant.

We’re far from finished (windows, doors, the kitchen and the downstairs toilet are all still on the list) but I think the projects we have completed have restored a lot of utility into some awkwardly-shaped and poorly-laid-out rooms. More pictures to follow…