Your Home Made Perfect viewers were shocked when a couple went £20,000 over budget when transforming their four-bedroom family home.
Project manager Natasha and Gael, a plumber, met in London but moved out to the seaside town of Leigh-on-Sea, in Essex, in search of more space for their two young children.
On last night’s episode they turned to architect Damion Burrows for help transforming their Edwardian semi-detached home, hoping to replace the disjointed downstairs dining room and kitchen with a single open-plan space that was full of light.
The couple got their wish – but it came at a cost. At the end of the episode they revealed they had gone £20,000 over their initial £50,000 budget.
Kitchen before: Project manager Natasha and Gael, a plumber, were frustrated by the kitchen that was disconnected from the rest of the house. They turned to architect Damion Burrows for help on last night’s episode of Your Home Made Perfect
Kitchen after: Damion brought down interior walls, lifted the ceiling and lowered the floor to create more space for the family
Dining room before: The dining room doubled up as a play room and storage space but did not feel comfortable
Dining room after: Clever use of bench seating allows the sociable couple to fit nine people around the table for dinner
Before the makeover Natasha and Gael found themselves battling against the restrictions of their downstairs layout. The kitchen was ‘marooned’ in the centre of the house and out of view of the garden, making it difficult for the busy parents to keep an eye on their children playing outside.
Meanwhile the dining room was doubling up as a storage cupboard and children’s play area. Outside there was a jumbled garage and a full family bathroom tacked on to the side of the house which Gael described as a ‘waste of space’.
To tackle the problems, Damion removed interior walls to combine the original dining room and kitchen and the former kitchen. He also extended into the back garden and lowered the dining room floor to create the illusion of space.
Bi-fold doors were added along the back of the house and the ceiling and skylights added to flood the room with even more light.
Searching for space: Natasha, a project manager, and Gael, a plumber, left London for an Essex home fit for a growing family
Garage before: The garage was big but full of a mismatch of items, as well as Gael’s motorcycle and kayak
Garage after: The space was divided in two parts – allowing Gael to easily access his vehicle and sports equipment
Family home: Gael and Natasha moved to the four-bedroom Edwardian property in Leigh-on-Sea 18 months ago
The couple were thrilled with the final product despite paying more than they had planned.
‘We blew the budget,’ Natasha admitted. ‘I think there was always that question, was £50,000 enough to do everything we want and basically we’ve got everything.
‘We spent £70,000. So it’s quite a long way over but it’s probably worth more than that because Gael fitted the kitchen, he will fit the bathroom and the utility. It’s the difference between going for a basic spec and a quality finish. So that cost a little bit more.’
Gael added: ‘We didn’t compromise on the quality of the product. And then we have the bathroom and the utility room. That’s phase two.’
Not practical: The children’s eating and play area was tucked behind the fridge but didn’t leave the parents much space
Family living: The open-plan kitchen-diner allows the parents to have an eye on their children while preparing food
Flooded with light: The back of the house was transformed by bi-fold doors and windows that bring the outside in
While some viewers were shocked by the overspend, the majority said it was worth it for the results.
One tweeted: ‘They main thing is that Natasha and Damion are happy with the space – it changed a lot but the final end product works for them and their family. £20k over budget isn’t ideal but they were happy to go for a high quality finish and spend a little more.’
Another posted: ‘Surprised they only went £20k over, thought it would have at least doubled the budget #yourhomemadeperfect.’
A third added: ‘It’s crap that these supposed brilliant designers can’t take £50K and give people a workable version of their top end design #yourhomemadeperfect.’
Par for the course: Longtime viewers of the show know clients go over budget and weren’t surprised by the overspend