When interior designer Elaine Woodcroft invited us to see her home, I knew it was going to be impressive and stylish and cool. We’d already featured one of her projects before and it was all of these things. What I wasn’t prepared for was how emotional and empowering this particular Through the Keyhole visit was going to be.
Tied up in the tiling, the floors and gorgeous soft furnishings inside this house in Ashburton is an inspiring tale of triumph over adversity.
‘It’s partly why I wanted to talk about it,’ says Elaine, putting the kettle on. ‘I think it’s quite…well…there must be other women out there who have been through difficult times and they need to know that if they just crack on and get their head down, it’s going to be all right.’
Elaine bought this place four years ago when she was in, as she puts it, ‘a really bad relationship’. Mentally, she was at a low ebb when she decided to take on a ‘horrendously’ damp and mouldy property with a view to turning it into a holiday let. Over the years, the building had been a gate house, gas works, carpentry workshop and furniture store before being split into two houses. The renovation of this eclectic space would be a welcome distraction.
However, Elaine’s circumstances changed and this do-er upper suddenly had to be more than simply an income stream, it needed to be somewhere for her to live.
‘I had to get out of where I was, but this place was uninhabitable,’ says Elaine. ‘I had that whole dilemma where I thought, do I just stick some white porcelain in and make do? ‘But then I thought, no, I want this done properly.’
Looking back, she realises this was a turning point that sent her off on an all-consuming journey that both lifted and nearly broke her.
There were times when the sun was out and she was there in her shorts and building gear with a clear vision, ripping stuff out and repainting kitchen units.
‘But then you get halfway through and you just think…what have I done?’ says Elaine. ‘It was blessing and a curse, that’s for sure.’
The house, parts of which date back to 1830, needed gutting. Lots of things had been left behind when it had been rented out previously, including a fridge which Elaine opened before spending three weeks trying to get rid of the smell. The layout also needed reshaping. Downstairs was one big room, so a new dividing wall was built. A small downstairs loo and laundry room were then added.
There was a lot of work still to do, plus a full-time business to run, no family support network nearby and lots of emotional fall-out to deal with.
But the little victories just kept on coming.
‘I did this kitchen for less than five grand,’ says Elaine, as we glance around the deep dark painted units and reclaimed finds. ‘This cupboard, for instance, it was left here when I bought the house and my builder came in and said, get rid of it, it’s mouldy.
‘And I said, no, I’m going to mix and match those, they’re staying. So, I dried them out, bleached them off, treated them and painted them. I am quite bloody-minded when I get going.’
Elaine also ended up tiling the kitchen floor. ‘I did all the levelling and then tiled it myself, which is why it’s a bit higgedly-piggeldy but I kind of don’t mind that,’ she says. ‘It’s part of the character. Oh god. I’m supposed to be making you a cuppa, aren’t I?’
We’re both a bit distracted now, especially when Elaine starts talking about blocked pipes and leaking ceilings and friendships that were lost along the way during a project that just never seemed to end.
‘I was saying to people, oh, it’ll be done in a few months and you can come round, or, oh, this time next year it will all be finished,’ she adds. ‘And I was fitting it around work…’
In reality, Elaine’s house was actually finished about 15 minutes ago.
She reveals she’s been up for most of the night putting the final touches to the paintwork and adding last-minute accessories that she knows will look good in the photos. A long time was spent styling the lovely courtyard area outside with its cosy pod and carefully placed plants, only for it to chuck it down. Do you know what? None of that matters. This is one of the coolest places I’ve sat in.
‘Thank you!’ says Elaine. ‘I was really nervous before you came but now, I’m looking round and thinking…I’ve got a spare bedroom that’s all done, my bedroom is done, all the furniture I’ve been meaning to get rid of for ages is done.’
Not just done, I tell her. There must be something really empowering about not only creating your own home but making it look like this.
‘I know,’ she says, still not quite believing it. ‘It it…. I could cry actually… it’s just because you’re seeing it like this today. For a long time, there were just loads of Ikea bags full of stuff everywhere! That spare room was just full of all of the things I knew I didn’t really need or want or wear anymore but I was just holding onto it.’
Elaine is by no means saying this building ‘saved’ her. Rather, what the house and this personal project has done is reconfirmed a few things.
‘For a long time, I knew what I liked but I didn’t know what my style was. I think it’s really cool that I’m starting to establish that now,’ she says, explaining that reclaiming and upcycling is at the heart of everything. ‘Before, I found that I tried to please my clients with what they wanted and you do need to take that on board but I’m definitely more now, you hire me because you like what I do.
‘I get my kicks from creating carefully curated rooms that have hints of high fashion with a rustic atmosphere that make people happy. The most important quality of a luxury space is that the owners see it as a true ‘home’. It should reflect them, their ideas, and their interests in the most beautiful and functional way possible.’
After growing both professionally and personally, it’s only now that Elaine can slowly begin to enjoy being in a place that has taken and given so much.
‘I want to feel relaxed in my own home, that’s been the driving force, you know?’ she says. ‘After all the turmoil I want it to be somewhere that feels safe and peaceful, that I can come in, take a deep breath and go…phew, this is mine.’
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