Celebrating Christmas in a picture-perfect Cheltenham home

Angela and James Colley’s house in Cheltenham could have been designed for Christmas. The early 1900s townhouse has three floors, so there is plenty of space for Angela to be creative.

‘Christmas is my favourite time of the year,’ she says. ’I love putting up the decorations to make it look festive and beautiful. And we always spend Christmas and Boxing Day at home to enjoy roast turkey then games and all the usual traditions.’

The couple moved into their new home in 2006 when Angela was expecting her first child. Unfortunately, the semi-detached house was in a sad state of repair with a huge amount of work needed.

Mollie on the doorstep. Last year the couple repainted the front of the house in 'Peignoir', and the front door in 'Pelt', both by Farrow & Ball (Image: Heather Gunn) ‘An old gentleman had been living there, and there was still a 1970s avocado bathroom with stained cork tiles, plus a washing machine and dryer next to the loo. There were also dirty carpets, tobacco-stained walls and an old-fashioned glass partition between the dining and sitting room,’ she says. ‘The lower ground floor was a self-contained flat, so at least we could rent it out – which we did for the next 14 years.’

The house was habitable, but the couple knew they just had to change the single bathroom into something more modern.

‘The old plumbing was poorly constructed and there was wet rot amid the joists. In fact, thanks to the rot our kitchen ceiling below collapsed!’

The sofa is from Love Your Home, and the Laura Ashley armchairs have been reupholstered by New Leaf Upholstery in 'Hugo Pale' oat linen fabric from Neptune Home. The wall colour is 'Chateau' by Zoffany, and the fireplaces are original (Image: Heather Gunn) Luckily Angela is an interior designer with her own company GeorgieRose Interior Design based in Cheltenham, so had plenty of ideas on how to transform things.

‘The bathroom was taken back to the brickwork and then we repaired the joists, replastered, rewired and reconfigured the layout,’ she says. ‘It now has a lovely traditional feeling, with a Victoria & Albert bath and walnut flooring. Recently I added some Harlequin wallpaper with a woodland theme, and painted the other wall in a vivid Yeabridge Green by Farrow & Ball.’

Then her first child Georgie arrived early so everything stopped for six months while Angela and baby recovered. Once she was back on her feet she tackled the kitchen.

The cupboard doors and fronts of the Howden units have been replaced with handmade doors by Aperture Designed Furniture, then hand sprayed and finished in 'Rolling Fog' colourway by Little Greene. The worktops are quartz with a subtle veining (Image: Heather Gunn) ‘Think old-fashioned 1970s brown units, brown lino, single bulb overhead and double doors leading onto a roof terrace. I put in affordable Howden units, knowing I would improve things later.’

With the arrival of a second daughter Lexie Rose, improvements – apart from redecorating and more minor tweaks – were again put on hold. ‘For instance, we took out a gas fire from the original marble fireplace in the sitting room and replastered a couple of bedrooms. Also replaced missing sections of picture rails.’

Then five years ago the couple decided they needed a much bigger kitchen, so they got planning permission to extend sideways to cover the existing roof terrace. ‘We doubled it in size and had to take out a chimney and fireplace,’ she says. ‘That meant putting in an RSJ. Then we added a picture window and a skylight and laid new Amtico flooring. We also changed the unit doors for bespoke ones in a Shaker style and had new quartz worktops.’

The whitewashed oak table is bespoke from Cosywood, and the chairs are from Cult Furniture. The chandelier over the dining table and the mantel mirror are from the White Company (Image: Heather Gunn) During the time of covid and lockdowns the couple tackled the garden which had been a jungle with a huge gloomy pond. Between them Angela and James dug out eight tons of soil which James then lugged out round the side of the house and up several steps to a waiting skip at street level. ‘It was a huge task which took about three months,’ Angela recalls. ‘But we had a garden office built and two patios laid and now have a really lovely garden.’

Two years ago, they gave the self-contained flat a complete renovation. ‘We removed the old kitchen and bathroom, stripped it right back to the brickwork, taking out a lot of woodchip wallpaper and completely rewiring.’

They had to completely renew the plumbing and heating system by replacing an old immersion heater with a combi boiler and putting in new radiators throughout the house. All the floors had to come up.

The main bedroom was once the lounge in the basement flat. The bed is from Dreams with cushions by Andrew Martin. The dressing table is from My Furniture, with chair from West Elm and ceiling light from John Lewis (Image: Heather Gunn) ‘We put in new plasterboard walls and ceilings then we completely redesigned the layout,’ she says. ‘It’s now our master bedroom, dressing room and en suite bathroom with a gym space, too. It took about four months and included another RSJ being installed because we made a doorway into a much wider opening.’

They also turned an attic space into a much more comfortable guest bedroom as well as adding wooden shutters to all the windows.

Were there any hitches? ‘I remember dropping a five-litre tin of pink paint all over the road when unloading it from my car boot!’ says Angela. ‘And when getting rid of an old glass shower screen, we managed to drop it so it shattered into a thousand pieces – again in the street.’

She adds, ‘We love our home as it’s where our girls were born, and it holds so many memories. We also have really lovely neighbours, and that makes the world of difference.’

The dressing room was formerly part of a bedroom in the basement flat. It leads into the en suite. The wardrobes are painted in 'Inchryra Blue' by Farrow & Ball (Image: Heather Gunn) In the refurbished family bathroom, the bath is by Victoria & Albert and the taps and hardware by Hudson & Reed. The wallpaper is Sanderson 'Woodland Toile' in cream/green and the wall paint colour is 'Yeabridge Green' by Farrow (Image: Heather Gunn) The bed in the guest bedroom is a storage ottoman from Dusk. The bedside tables are from R V Astley, and the lamps from Cox & Cox, with cushions and throw from Layered Lounge (Image: Heather Gunn) Mollie waiting for a walk. The upper walls are painted in 'Slaked Lime' and the lower in 'Slaked Lime Deep', both by Little Green. The original banister has been painted black and a Roger Oates stair runner installed (Image: Heather Gunn) ADDRESS BOOK