Couple transforms rotting old property into stunning family home

Couple who bought a five-bedroom home with ‘rotting’ walls for £500,000 almost double its value after a £90,000 renovation – including adding a new kitchen and bathroom

  • Laura, 27, and Eddy have transformed their five-bedroom property into a stunning, modern family home
  • The engineering draughtsman from North Yorkshire and her husband spent  £90,000 in total on renovation
  • The pair believe they have now increased property value by £300,000 after buying their home last March 

A couple who bought a semi-detached home for £500,000 have added £300,000 to its value by undertaking a £90,000 renovation.  

Laura, 27, and her husband Eddy, 30 who did not want to give their surnames, purchased their five-bedroom, semi-detached property in North Yorkshire in March last year and spent the next 11 months turning it into a home. 

Laura, an engineering draughtsman, took charge of the design and found ways to revamp the space including adding a new kitchen and bathroom, as well as making structural repairs.

Calling in Laura’s father – who owns a construction company – for help, the couple’s changes have made for a more sustainable and energy efficient house.


The couple who transformed their rotting home claim to have increased its property value by £300,000. Pictured, the bathroom before (left) and after (right) renovation


A video montage featured the couple – who found out that Laura was pregnant with their daughter Honey as they bought the new home – gutting the property apart before fitting it anew. Pictured, the bedroom before (left) and after (right) renovation


Calling in Laura’s father – who owns a construction company – for help, the couple’s changes have made for a more sustainable and energy efficient house. Pictured, the kitchen before (left) and after (right) the transformation

The engineering draughtsman and her partner revamped the space to include a brand new kitchen (pictured), bathroom and structural repairs – with the project taking 11 months and totaling the couple £90,000

Laura, 27, and her husband Eddy, 30 (pictured) purchased their five-bedroom, semi-detached property for £500,000 in March last year – and have now made it into a stunning modern family home

The pair have since gone viral on TikTok, as Laura shared their incredible transformation with more than 127,600 followers. 

Their final home reveal – showing off the hard work that went into making the changes – raked in more than 15.5 million views and has 3.2 million likes.

A video montage featured the couple – who found out that Laura was pregnant with their daughter Honey as they bought the new home – gutting the property apart before fitting it anew, laying down new flooring and completely revamping the place.

‘I really wanted to breathe new life into this beautiful old house,’ Laura said. ‘It’s going to be our forever home and it needed some TLC.’

The pair have since gone viral on TikTok, as Laura shared their incredible transformation with more than 127,600 followers. Pictured, the dining room in the couple’s brand new home


Their final home reveal – showing off the hard work that went into making the changes – raked in more than 15.5 million views and has 3.2 million likes. Pictured, the utility room before renovation (left) and the couple’s brand new kitchen (right)

Laura said that thanks to a strict budget, she had to be ‘realistic and make compromises on where to allocate funds’, meaning initial design plans were scaled back. Pictured, the kitchen after the transformation

Laura did all the architectural design herself, using AutoCAD – a software which helps with visualising 2D and 3D drawings. 

She said that thanks to a strict budget, she had to be ‘realistic and make compromises on where to allocate funds’, meaning initial design plans were scaled back.

Laura admitted that there were some problems along the way. 

‘Like with all renovations we did encounter a number of issues,’ she revealed. ‘But luckily nothing that caused any major setbacks.

Despite feeling hesitant about carrying the renovation out while Laura was pregnant, the young family decided to carry on with the project. Eddy pictured working on the house

Laura said: ‘We unearthed many horrors when stripping back the internal walls, discovering that many of them had been filled in with wood that was now rotting…’ Pictured, the house during the renovation

‘We unearthed many horrors when stripping back the internal walls, discovering that many of them had been filled in with wood that was now rotting, as well as bits of rubble where they had obviously run out of bricks.

‘The internal walls also turned out to be sat on foundations made of wood that were rotten, so the walls were almost sitting on nothing.’

Laura added that they even had to have a new power supply installed to the house as it turned out the existing power cable was unfit for a modern home.  

Despite feeling hesitant about carrying the renovation out while Laura was pregnant, the young family decided to carry on with the project.

The couple shared the journey from their purchase into a stunning, modern new home on social media. Pictured, the living room after renovation

The couple did as much as possible themselves, although they did also get help from Laura’s father, who runs a construction company, and various contractors for the fiddlier bits. Pictured, the hallway after the transformation

‘We considered pulling out of the house purchase because we had no idea how we were going to do it all,’ she said. ‘But in the end, we decided to go for it.

‘We had a big wedding planned that we had saved for a long time, but because of the cancellation, we decided to invest in our future and put towards buying our forever home instead.’

The couple did as much as possible themselves, although they did also get help from Laura’s father, who runs a construction company, and various contractors for the fiddlier bits.

All of the timbers had to be treated due to wood worm, and some walls were rebuilt. The downstairs floors were removed for a new finish, which includes ‘hardcore, concrete, insulation and an underfloor heating system’.


All of the timbers had to be treated due to wood worm, and some walls were rebuilt. The downstairs floors were removed for a new finish. Pictured, the brand new kitchen (left) and living room (right)

The couple also ‘demolished’ internal walls downstairs to create a new layout, adding steel beams to support the floor above. Pictured, the couple’s new bathroom


Laura said: ‘Since moving in, we have been taking time to finically recover and doing work to the house as and when we can afford…’ Pictured, the nursery in their beautiful new home

Laura added: ‘Then we stripped the old stud walls from the internal and external walls, before insulating them and boarding them, as well as plastering.

‘A full re-wire and complete new plumbing system has also been done and we wanted to convert to a more sustainable energy source, so we removed the old oil heating system and had a renewable energy source installed.

‘This was very expensive, but government green grants helped alleviate costs.’

The couple also ‘demolished’ internal walls downstairs to create a new layout, adding steel beams to support the floor above. Additionally, they installed a sky lantern.

The mother-of-one (pictured during the renovation) hopes to share positivity and inspiration with her videos on TikTok, as well as providing motivation for those who want to transform their homes


In a bid to create a modern family feel, they refitted the bathroom and kitchen and finished off with relocating the bespoke staircase to the centre of the house. Pictured during the repairs (left and right)

Laura added that they even had to have a new power supply installed to the house as it turned out the existing power cable was unfit for a modern home. Eddy pictured working on the house

Laura (pictured working on the renovation) did all the architectural design herself, using AutoCAD – a software which helps with visualising 2D and 3D drawings

Keeping the home’s key original features, Laura and Eddy also sanded down the existing wood beams and kept the original stone walls in the kitchen.

In a bid to create a modern family feel, they refitted the bathroom and kitchen and finished off with relocating the bespoke staircase to the centre of the house.

Although they still have some more work to do on the house, the couple are thrilled with how it’s coming along.

Laura said: ‘Since moving in, we have been taking time to finically recover and doing work to the house as and when we can afford.

The couple have completely revamped their property (pictured during the renovation), refitting it into a stunning, modern family home 

Laura (pictured with Eddy) said: ‘Although it wasn’t our plan, I think everything worked out as it was supposed to and I have so much admiration, as well as respect for my husband…’

Laura also added: ‘This home is also the place of a lot “firsts” for my daughter and I’m excited for her to grow up here…’ Pictured, the house during repairs

‘I really wanted to breathe new life into this beautiful old house,’ Laura told NeedToKnow.Online. ‘It’s going to be our forever home and it needed some TLC.’ Pictured, the house before and during the transformation

‘In the future, we have a list of projects to complete such as the downstairs toilet, dressing room, complete utility landscaping, as well as replacing temporary elements with quality materials.

‘We have all the time in the world, so we will undertake these jobs in time.’

The mother-of-one hopes to share positivity and inspiration with her videos on TikTok, as well as providing motivation for those who want to transform their homes.

She added: ‘Looking back now, I feel in complete disbelief that we did that.

‘Although it wasn’t our plan, I think everything worked out as it was supposed to and I have so much admiration, as well as respect for my husband.

‘Eddy spent all of his spare time in the house trying his best to get it done and he did so much of it alone.

‘Now, we spend our mornings together in the kitchen and our evenings snuggled up on the sofa in the living room.

‘This home is also the place of a lot “firsts” for my daughter and I’m excited for her to grow up here. The journey has been incredibly hard, but so rewarding.’

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