John & Sue’s kitchen extension transformation | Reno Club Spotlight
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Fiona Duffy
Working on projects across the UK, specialising in affordable renovations & timeless design
Guys 😱 I have another STUNNING student result to show you! It was the biggest honour supporting John & Sue with the planning of their 1960s renovation project (they are @dob_of_white_paint).
John & Sue joined our online renovation course back in 2021. Watching their project evolve from a set of incredible plans on paper, to a dusty building site, to this show-stopping home... and seeing them host the most fabulous birthday party for Sue, what a journey it’s been!
As with ALL renovation projects, it wasn’t without it’s tricky decisions and a few curveballs – so I invited John & Sue to share exactly what it took to achieve the results they have. AND what they learned about renovating along the way.
Would they do it all again? Did they make any costly mistakes? I’ll let them tell all…
john & sue enjoying their beautiful new open plan kitchen extension
Introduce yourselves :) What do you do, how long have you been together, who do you live with?
Hi. We are John and Sue. We retired in 2019 having worked for the John Lewis Partnership for 30+ years. We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last year. It is just the two of us at home, however all the children and grandchildren are nearby.
Tell us about your house – what’s it like?
We own a four bedroom detached house built in 1960s which had not been developed – i.e there was one plug socket in each room and the original kitchen still in place! It is in a beautiful village location near Stamford, Lincs.
Reno club member’s John & Sue outside their 1960s renovation
We are the last house in a small cul de sac, south facing rear garden backing onto the village cricket ground overlooking the countryside and fields beyond.
We chose our home simply for location and aspect – the two things you can never change about a home!
before – the house had so much potential to become john & sue’s forever home
AFTER – THEIR REAR EXTENSION HAS COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED THE PROPERTY – AND THEIR LIVES!
Was it difficult to find the right renovation property?
We originally didn’t want a renovation project!
However we sold and bought during the pandemic so there was a pressure to move and once we stepped inside the house whilst viewing it, we knew this was our forever home and were excited about the possibilities the house presented.
What tips would you give people across the UK looking now?
1: Are you happy with the location and aspect?
2: How long do you plan to live there and what’s your budget?
3: Sign up to the Fifi McGee Reno Club :)
Ah, you are kind 🙏🏼 I’m so glad the course + community have been so valuable in your renovation planning.
SWEEPING VIEWS + A PLACE FOR JOHN & SUE TO CREATE HAPPY MEMORIES WITH THEIR CHILDREN & GRANDCHILDREN
So tell us, what was your vision for the property and your lives together?
A comfortable, inviting, attractive and relaxing home for two of us. Offering a warm welcome to family and friends with room to entertain indoors and out. Future proofing as our forever home.
With grandchildren and dogs we don’t want a show home….. We love sticky fingers and muddy paws!
I love this! Practical and beautiful design solutions are so important for easy living. You’ll know that Neil and I are big advocates for this too.
TIMELESS DESIGN DECISIONS IN JOHN & SUE’S KITCHEN
You’re both such cherished members of our online course. What stage were you at when you joined and why did it appeal to you? What was the one thing it helped you with the most?
We joined whilst in the process of purchasing the house. Although reasonably good at DIY we have never done a renovation and needed all the help we could get!
The biggie for us was the help with setting out a budget and sticking to it.
We did the budgeting module and really drilled down into the detail. We kept revisiting the budget tracker before and after every expenditure. We made as many decisions as possible early in the project. And if we went over budget in one area we were prepared to cut back in another. For example, we decided to purchase our stone floor from a local quarry which took us over budget by £2000 therefore we needed to reduce our expenditure in another area.
I’m so pleased the course gave you that control and peace of mind during the entire project. Did you phase your project or complete the renovation in one go, and why?
We did it all in one go. We wanted to hit it hard and hit it once.
Sensible! If you have the numbers and you’re comfortable sharing, can you break down how you’ve spread your budget across parts of the property? This helps readers understand their own affordability
The majority of our budget went into replacing plumbing, electrics, windows and insulation.
We decided to go down the architect route and found an excellent local practice who worked with us from conception to completion (Butcher Bayley Architects)
To save us some money we managed the project during the build phase relying on the architect to attend site meetings when required to sign off the work. The price of this was £21k and was worth every penny.
We subcontracted the windows. The cost was £26k (Estimates varied from £26k to £55k
The kitchen was built and fitted by a local cabinet maker (Timberwerx in Stamford) and cost £14k plus appliances
What did the course and community help you with during the project?
It prevented us from going over budget and wasting time on some lengthy research.
We were considering Air Source Heating but didn't really know where to start. We asked the community and had some excellent advice!
What surprised you about renovating and designing a house?
Quite simply it was a huge drain on our time and the number of decisions we had to make.
How did you approach your interior design choices? Did you have help or do this by yourself? What would you do differently or again?
We started with Fi’s support in the Design modules of the renovation online course which really helped us identify our personal style preferences. We also had help from a John Lewis design consultant who was amazing and saved us time and money.
What date did you start renovating and when did you expect to complete it?
We appointed our architect in May 2021
Planning approved in Nov 2021
Building contractor appointed in March 2022
Ground work started July 2022
Project handover March 2023
What route did you take for the build and how did this work out?
Our architect produced a tender document. We interviewed five building companies (all local) appointing one who managed the whole project. For us it worked very well.
What did you learn about working with architects and contractors?
From the outset we were crystal clear with architects and builders that good working relationships between them were key to us.
The two we appointed worked well together and are now doing further projects together. We kept our relationship with them business like and professional.
If we were unsure about any aspect of the build we never held back on asking the question even if it felt quite basic. We organised monthly site meetings with agenda and minutes with clear action points.
They always appreciated it when we turned up with cake or had an impromptu bbq and cooked hot dogs :)
Did you do any work yourselves? (and also did you regret any work you did yourselves?)
Yes, we completely stripped out the house of carpets, curtains, kitchen, wallpaper, built in wardrobes etc. It was hard work but saved us £££.
I love that you called on your family to help with the demo – putting their skills to good use 😆 – I bet it was more fun too!
So tell us, what has been your biggest challenge so far that other renovators need to be prepared for?
Finding the right architect and builder for our project. The modules really helped us to prepare a vision and brief to articulate what we wanted to achieve.
What are the first steps you recommend to a newbie renovator to start their projects?
Find the right property (aspect and location)
If you can, live in it for a few months to really understand what you need/want.
Quick-fire questions! :)
Answer in a few words…
What is the strongest emotion you connect with renovating your house? Excitement
What one tip would you give our reader thinking about renovating a house? Budget Budget Budget
What did you go over budget on and why? Kitchen floor to buy local and ethical
What did you save money on and how? Changing an aspect of the design in two areas. We decided not to have a guest ensuite and changed one set of sliding doors to a picture window.
What was the most rewarding aspect of your project and why? The large space we have created in the kitchen family area for entertaining.
What was the most difficult decision you had to make while renovating? We weren’t sure we could justify the expense of a living sedum roof – but we did it as a contribution to the environment, especially as we are in a conservation area.
Knowing everything that you know now, would you renovate again? No - this is our final home and we are not planning to move again.
Where are your kitchen, worktops, lighting, tiles and flooring from? I know lots will ask!
Kitchen/workstops: Timberwerx
Lighting: John Lewis
Flooring: Stamford Stone
Tiles: Johnson Tiles
Sanitaryware: James Hargeaves
Windows: Glazing Solutions, Choices Glazing
High fives to John & Sue for their amazing renovation results 🙌🏻
Would you like help to avoid your renovation costs spiralling and prevent mistakes?
Neil and I would love to welcome you onto our free renovation masterclass.
It’s completely free and we’ll start by showing you ways to save thousands during your renovation planning.
Honestly? It could be the best decision you made for your bank balance by signing up.
Give the guide a try and if you’d like more support from us, join the waitlist for our online renovation course – we’ll show you the ropes and connect you with hundreds of other UK renovators like John & Sue!
