Our house: Joy Edward's Deighton family home completed in time for baby

Feb 2 2010 By Emma Davison

Our house: Family home completed in time for baby

The depressing kitchen was knocked through to the dining room to even out the layout and create a light and modern entertaining space, a fourth bedroom was created and the leaky bathroom was repaired and replaced.

But Joy, a garage sales assistant, explains it was quite difficult removing traces of the past.

“Everything, from the carpets and walls to the skirting boards and banisters, was covered in this awful dark brown colour,’’ she said.

“It was a nightmare to remove – it took seven coats of gloss just to cover up the banisters!

“But I absolutely loved getting involved with it all and picked up lots of new skills. I learned how to use a drill and wallpaper and even tiled the kitchen myself.”

In fact Joy loved the experience so much that even when she found out she was expecting a baby sister for her children Joshua, eight, and three-year-old daughter Sophie, she couldn’t bring herself to down her paintbrush.

“I was halfway through the work when I found out I was pregnant with Jessica, but that didn’t slow me down at all,’’ she said.

“I was absolutely determined to finish it in time for the baby to be born so the whole family could start out together in it.”

Joy got her wish and created a lovely home for her to enjoy with her children and partner, Robert Lockwood.

The once tatty interior is now bright and modern, the reviled decor replaced with beiges and soft chocolates teamed with delicate flower accessories giving a sense of flow from one room to the next.

Joy and her family love the new look of her home but have decided to put on the market as she is looking for her next project with a view to going into property development full-time in the future.

She says: “I loved the experience so much it is definitely something I would eventually like to do permanently.

“I am really proud of what I’ve achieved with the house. It was a house before. Now it’s a home.”

Deighton Road, Deighton, is being sold privately by the family. To arrange a viewing call Joy on 07768 911760.

l Price: Offers around £130,000

l Four bedroom semi-detached home

l Extensively modernised and refurbished

l Close to local amenities

l Modern fitted kitchen diner, family-friendly garden with seating area